A Story of Eighteen Years
by Centurious the Azure
Summary: A rewrite of A Story of Eighteen Years. "This is a love story. The story of a girl with a broken soul, and the boy who tried to pick up those shattered pieces and put them back together…only to fail in every single way."
1. Prologue: Battle of Minas Tor

Disclaimer: Drakengard is the property of Square-Enix, Tales of Vesperia was created by Namco Tales Studio.

A Story of Eighteen Years

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Prologue

The night was calm, as were the seas as a small vessel cut across the water. A tall lone figure stood at the prow of the ship. A dark green hood up above his head, masking the features of the person looking over the bow of the ship. The only sound came from the water lapping against the wooden sides of the boat as he gazed aimlessly across the unending expanse of water. There was an eerie beauty to the whole thing.

"Ezra?" A delicate voice called out. The man named Ezra glanced to see a young woman, about seventeen, standing behind him, aquamarine colored eyes full of concern, her shoulder length blonde hair, pointed out in such a way as to look like a dandelion, pointed ears barely poking out, indicating her elven heritage.

A short blue hooded cloak over an armored crop top showing off her navel with armor black hot pants covering her perfectly shaped rear end topped off with a detached blue sleeve on her left arm, and an armored vambrace on the other complimented by a dark brown fingerless glove on each hand, a pair of brown ankle-length boots with long knee-length stockings, in a deep black that matched her shorts.

A dark red choker around her neck complimented all the blue she wore. A blue, and white bandanna was tied to the belt around her waist to the side along with a carrying pouch fastened behind her. To her side hanging off her belt was a simple short sword in a blue leather sheath with a hand on its hilt out of habit. Part affection, and part practice, he thought.

"Hey," she said gently, coming up next to him. The deck planks noisily shifted underneath her feet. "It's almost time for dinner. Phoebe told me to come to get you."

"Thanks, Felecia," Ezra said, a wan smile twisting across his lips as he took his hood off slowly. The hood fell back revealing the features of a young man as he came to face the young woman. He had light messy brown hair that was akin to a bird's nest. Those bangs framed hard-edged malachite green eyes. The sharp look he cast over the scene was enough to cut into anyone's expectations of the boy she saw in his soft looking, almost feminine features.

He dropped a gloved hand, letting it come from the straight sword strapped to his back. He wore a bright green hooded army jacket with grey lines running down the shoulders to the wrist, reminding Felecia quite a bit of the loud red hooded cloak of a young girl she'd met once long ago. Besides that, he had a grey tunic showing from the fully unzipped jacket. He wore matching grey pants and brown hiking boots with a visible steel toe on the front.

"I just needed some alone time. You know how I am." He turned away to look at the ocean, his haunted green eyes had a look that spoke of experience beyond his teenage years. "It's still taking some getting used to, this world is so different. I'm just trying to adjust, but I just can't stop thinking about her. Even now she haunts me." Felecia came up alongside him, putting a comforting arm around him, resting her head against his arm.

"I suppose it is hard to escape the specter of someone like her. But it's over and done with. She's dead, Ezra." Felecia struggled to hold back the hitch in her voice. "They're all dead. Nothing can change that now. This is a fresh start for all of us. I'm sure in time that pain will subside, you just have to let it flow naturally." She tugged on his arm, her hand coming to hold his. There was hesitation in his grasp as he came to hold hers. A want to be alone she could tell from his avoidant body language. "Come on now, it's time to eat. Phoebe cooked up a nice dinner for us."

Ezra relented, and the two entered the cabin, to the sounds of boisterous laughter and the smell of a finely cooked meal. They were approached by a young boy of eleven, his innocent face framed by hair white as fallen snow, offset by the gold and red feather in his hair. "Hey there, Ezra! We were starting to worry about you." He chirped, watching Ezra unstrapping the sword bandoleer on his back. "I don't want Phoebe to be sad if she thinks you don't like her cooking." The young man's expression lit up, his demeanor changing from dour to instant cheer from the glint in his eyes.

Ezra's response was to rub his hair, the boy joyfully giggled. "You should have a little more faith in me, Mikhail. I would never miss out on a meal prepared by our dear Phoebe." The boy, Mikhail, smiled, before trotting off to his place at the table.

"Dinner is served!" A melodic voice called out as a young woman with blue hair braided in an elaborate plait that formed a knot in her hair before draping down her left shoulder entered, carrying a large cast iron pot with a strength that belied her willowy frame "I hope everyone likes stew!" With a grunt, she set the pot down on the table, before filling bowls and passing them around.

"Smells great as always Phoebe!" Ezra said, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek taking his place at the table. He set his sword, and its thick brown leather bandoleer in its place leaning against the chair.

"I'd pale to think what would happen if we didn't have you to cook for us. I certainly don't have any culinary skill, considering what happened the last time I tried helping you in the kitchen." This earned him a knowing frown from Phoebe, while Mikhail and Felecia just snickered, which they quickly stifled as the other members of the ship's crew began entering the dining room.

"Where's Furiae and Raven?" Phoebe asked, pouring another bowl before handing it to Mikhail to pass down the line. "I don't want either of them to miss dinner."

"If I had to guess, Raven's probably taking a nap in the cargo hold again. He practically made that place his second home." Felecia said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "As for Furiae, she was tired after all the healing she did from that recent monster attack." She looked across the table to where a girl their age sat with pink hair and blue-green eyes. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that she wanted to beat the number of people you helped, your Highness."

Felecia's voice carried a teasing air to it, as the pink haired girl's face scrunched up in an adorable pout. It was then another of their companions, a young man with long dark hair, carrying a katana spoke up. "I never thought there could be such a huge rivalry between healers. There's always a first time for everything. It seemed rather intense if you ask me."

"I'd hardly call it intense, Yuri." Another girl chimed in, her ears, pointed like Felecia's, but even longer, almost to a comical degree, twitched in mirth, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say a fight would break out. But if I had to name a winner, then I'd have to give the victory to Estelle here." She lounged in her chair with her feet up on the table, exposing a pair of long, smooth legs. "She was faster this time, not surprising since her technique is more refined. It allows her to pump out the healing spells in a more efficient manner than Furiae."

"I'm so glad you're keeping score, Judith," Phoebe said, a slight hint of disdain in her voice. "Would you mind getting your feet off the table so we can eat?" The Krityan woman, Judith, just shrugged and settled back in her seat as a bowl of stew was put in front of her.

"Come on, where's my food? I'm starving here!" A young girl of about fifteen impatiently banged the table, causing all the of the bowls and silverware to jump slightly. before pushing the goggles up out of in her chin-length brown hair up out of forehead. "All of you do know it's a proven fact that it's wrong to deny a growing young woman dinner!"

"Will you quit whining already?" A twelve-year-old boy shot back from the far end of the table. His brown hair stuck straight up as he tugged at the red scarf tied around his neck, his brown eyes wearing a glare of annoyance. "Phoebe will get to everyone. She's not going to deny anyone here food, even the likes of you!"

"Rita, Karol, that's enough!" Estelle gently chiding them. "Everyone will get their portion, so please stop arguing." Karol just sulked while Rita hunched down, blushing slightly as Phoebe gave them their stew. In the corner a low growling could be heard, coming from a large blue and white dog, who gripped a pipe in his lips.

Phoebe pulled a large chunk of meat still attached to the bone, placing in front of him. "I would never forget you, Repede. You're such a good boy." She smiled, patting the canine on the head. Repede barked as he gleefully tore into his prize. It was then a girl with dark hair tied up in a pair of ponytails with red hair ties came up to him, kneeling down to pet him. But the dog growled at her slightly, picking up the meat and padding over to where Yuri was sitting.

The girl frowned slightly, her blue eyes heavy as she walked over to the table, sitting between Estelle and Rita. "Why won't he let me get close to him? It's been six months now, and Repede still treats me like a total stranger."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Lyris." Yuri passed her a plate of rolls. "Repede is just choosy that way. He doesn't hate you if that makes you feel any better." He reached down, petting his faithful companion. "Estelle knows that from experience. It took a long time for him to warm up to her, isn't that right?" He looked to the princess, who hadn't touched her stew once, and seemed worried by something. "Penny for your thoughts, Estelle?"

"I was thinking about you said just now, Yuri. I'm still having trouble believing that it's been almost half a year since we all met." It was then Ezra reached across the table, taking hold of Estelle's dainty hand, causing her to start blushing all over as he gave a small grin of his own.

"It was even longer for us. I believe tomorrow's exactly eight months to the day when we met." This caused quite a stir among those at the dinner table. Judith snickered while Phoebe just sighed, blushing slightly.

"I wish you wouldn't do that in front of everybody. It's very embarrassing." Estelle said, although, despite her words, it was pretty evident from the gleam in her eyes that she really didn't mind all that much.

Rita shot Ezra a dirty look. "You really want to do that now? What am I saying? Of course, you'd choose to pull a stunt like that right now. You seriously don't have any shame do you, Ezra? Seriously, you're as bad as Raven, no I take that back, you're even worse. As long as it has legs or a nice ass, you're all over it! Honestly, it makes my stomach turn!"

"Hey, Raven is a cool guy. I think you're just jealous and refuse to admit it!" Ezra smirked at how Rita flinched at those words. Judith took the chance to pounce on that. "Well how about that? Our little scientist is interested in something besides just Blastia!" She started mock sniffling, wiping away an imaginary tear. "It's so beautiful! She's growing up so fast!"

"Shut up right now, Judith! I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Rita snapped, looking down at her bowl as she began slurping it up. "The only thing I care about is my work. Don't you dare get any further ideas or I'll light your hair on fire, and you know I'll do it!"

"Hey, do you guys mind?" A gentle voice called out as everyone turned to see another woman, wearing a simple long-sleeved dress colored white standing in the door, her brown hair falling down past her waist and ever so delicately brushing against her backside. "How's a former Goddess supposed to get her beauty sleep with all this racket?" She took note of meal and her bright blue eyes widened. "No way, it's already dinner?"

"So glad of you to join us, Furiae," Felecia said. "Go ahead and take a seat. Phoebe made stew." Furiae entered with graceful strides, taking a place at the table next to Phoebe, who promptly spooned her a bowl and handed it to her. The door banged open and a loud belch rang through the air.

A disheveled looked man in his mid-thirties stumbled in, his messy grayish-brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. His face was covered in stubble, and the bags under his eyes gave him a dangerous, unsavory look about him. "What do we have here? Not only have the prettiest gaggle of ladies in all the world are assembled, but the most beautiful, and thoughtful woman on the boat has prepared what smells like a truly delicious meal!" He wiped a fake tear. "I understand now why I've been allowed to live this long, that way I can partake in this magnificent feast!"

"Welcome to the party, old man," Ezra said, indicating the empty seat next to him. "Come on and grab some chow. Phoebe made plenty." Raven just chortled before sitting down and digging in.

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, not about anything in particular. Rita just sat idly swirling her spoon through the last bit of broth in the bottom of the bowl. She was bored out of her mind. But then she caught sight of Ezra talking with Raven and Estelle. She then thought of the perfect way to be rid of her boredom. "Hey, Ezra! Tell me a story, like say, where you and all your weird little friends came from?"

This caused all conversation to grind to a complete halt. Mikhail and Lyris looked more than a little uncomfortable, Phoebe looked like she was about to start crying. Furiae seemed ready to fade into her chair, and Felecia was about ready to strangle Rita. Ezra was the only one who looked unperturbed. He just rolled his eyes. "I have nothing to say. To be honest, it's rather boring. You'd be asleep in minutes, and then I'd had to carry you back to bed."

But Rita wouldn't be so easily deterred. "Oh, I don't think so! You should be aware that Estelle has said a few things to me. And I'm very intrigued. We've known each other for some time now, and yet you haven't shared a single damn thing. It pisses me off to no end that you don't trust all of us."

Ezra just let out an exasperated sigh. "You're a persistent one, aren't you?" He grunted, sounding like he would rather do anything else.

"Just tell the brat already, E." A girl with shoulder blade length fire engine red hair said from her place across the table, Rita jumped at her sudden appearance, screaming at an octave that made Repede whimper a little bit. "It's not like this is a short voyage, anyway."

"Ah, so nice of you to join us, Fianna," Yuri remarked in a deadpan tone. "I was wondering when you were going to pop out of hiding."

"Very sneaky, girl!" Raven leered, waggling his eyebrows. "I have to admit, you have a lot of style."

"Perhaps that's why Yeager let her into Leviathan's Claw," Judith smirked. "One minute she's there, the next minute she's gone."

"I thought I felt a chill a second ago." Karol quipped, feeling a chill at how Fianna waved at him. Her violet eyes glinting with a troll like glee. "It only happens any time she's around."

"I'm actually starting to get used to it," Estelle said, eliciting a light chuckle from Fianna. It was then Repede came up to Fianna, who began rubbing underneath his chin. He seemed to like this very much, causing Lyris no end of dismay.

"How do you manage that?" She asked.

"It's a thing between us fellow animals," Fianna responded, sitting down at her seat. She kicked up her leather boots onto the table and leaned precariously back in her seat. Much to Phoebe's motherly consternation. Fianna simply flashed her a defiant grin. "But we're getting off track here. Just go ahead and tell them the whole story, Ezra. I know you'd simply want to just forget this all happened, but it's not easy for me. I imagine the others here feel the same way, am I right?" She looked to Felecia, Mikhail, Phoebe, Lyris, and Furiae in turn.

Felecia was the one who spoke up first, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "It's okay, Ezra. I think we can all contribute to this, but we'll let you go first." Mikhail and Furiae both just gave slight nods, while Phoebe just smiled. It was now apparent to Ezra that he had no other option to open the book of his past, back to the chapter he swore never to lay eyes on again. He stretched out, and stood up, taking a position at the head of the table.

"Okay then, if you guys really want to know the whole story, then you'll get it. As you've probably surmised by now. Mikhail, the girls, and I are not from this world. We come from another realm altogether called Midgard. A land defined by its violence and brutality. You think the monster attacks here are bad? In Midgard, we didn't have the luxury of barriers to keep our towns and villages safe. If we got some unwanted guests, it was always a gore fest!"

It was then Yuri could really see just how far Ezra's thousand-yard stare went. "My story is both complicated and simple all at once. It's complicated because it's the story of the rise and fall of a mighty empire, a story of war and survival against a hostile force that sought the total destruction of all life in our world."

Phoebe held Ezra's hand, He swallowed hard as a single tear fell down his face. "But it's also very simple because, at its core, this is a love story. The story of a girl with a broken soul, and the boy who tried to pick up those shattered pieces and put them back together…only to fail in every single way."

 _(Ten Years Ago, Midgard, Minas Tor Village)_

 _I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. I lived in a small village called Minas Tor, located between the grand forests that surrounded the Cathedral City, Midgard's capital, and arid wastelands of the Land of Deserts. We were lucky enough to be on the greener side, but the distance between us and those vast stretches of sand and rock were much closer than people realized._

 _As for the village itself, it really wasn't much, just a wide place in the road with a few log cabins, and a large community barn where everyone stored the crops grown in the few small fields surrounded us. Still, it was the only home I had ever known. I lived with my mother, Yesenia, who served the community as a mage, providing potions and enchantments for those needing them. My stepfather, Naaman, the head of the village guard, a vital role since we didn't have much in the ways of walls or other defensive barriers. He would be out there for days at a time, on the lookout for any threats to the village, monsters and his son, my stepbrother, Kieran. Even though we weren't of the same blood, he and I were inseparable._

 _Our days were spent playing tag around the village or hide and seek in the woods, learning magic from my mother, and finally practicing archery and swordsmanship under Naaman's watchful eye. They both wanted us to be capable of defending ourselves if we went out into the wilds, given the various animals and the other nasty creatures that existed out there. In all, everything was relatively quiet and peaceful, but the little bubble my life existed in was about to burst. I was going to see the world for all its gruesome splendor, and there was no filter._

 _I remember the day well, I was eight years old at the time, and it was a warm summer evening. We were doing some target practice on some straw dummies Naaman had set up for us. "Watch this brother, I'm going for a threefer!" Kieran said to me, drawing the intricately carved bow that his father had made for him all the way back to his ear, the white feathers on his arrows such a stark contrast to his hair, black as the deepest night itself. The air was silent as he let them fly, one square in the torso, the other two right where the eyes were._

 _"All too easy." Was all he'd say as he gave a smug grin. It always amazed me how much of a natural Kieran was when you put a bow in his hands. Every shot he made was either center of mass or a full out headshot. I couldn't help but be jealous of his prowess. Still, I wasn't about to let him show me up as I took my turn, nocking the arrow into my own bow._

 _"Check this out, K," I said, pulling the string back. "I've been practicing my quick draw!" He just shrugged, figuring it would be better to show it rather than talk. I had already pulled the second arrow out of my quiver and was setting up as my first shot pierced the dummy's midsection, the second arrow was out, and it plunged into the left shoulder, jutting out the back. The third and fourth arrows followed in quick succession, hitting the neck and brain respectively. "What do you think?" I asked, eager for his opinion. Even if we did banter on, it was in order to help us improve._

 _Kieran walked up to the dummy, looking it over for a few minutes. He then folded his arms and closed his eyes, which let me know he was thinking, he always did that. "I'll give you credit, little brother, you had a pretty good draw speed, and your grouping was certainly impressive. I don't think I could have done much better myself. But, in your desire for speed, don't let your accuracy suffer either. Being able to pull your arrows out fast doesn't mean anything if you don't hit your mark."_

 _"I couldn't agree more, son." My mother called out from the doorway. She was possessed of simple beauty. I think what I remember most was her hair. Long, brown, and always tied up in a ponytail or a bun, a necessity for her work, especially if she was brewing potions down in the basement, or making dinner, which the two of us could already smell. Mom was a great cook. "However, that's enough archery practice for one day. It's almost dinner time and your father should be getting home from watch soon. Go and get washed up."_

 _"Sure Mom!" Kieran and I both said, trooping into the house. We put our bows away in our bedroom and then went back outside to take a bath, which for us meant going out back, stripping down and soaking each other with water from a bucket. After using Mom's homemade soap, we dried off and put on fresh clothes. Dinner was fast getting done. Naaman had hunted a deer just a couple of days before, and it was good and roasted._

 _"It smells great as always, Yesenia," Kieran remarked, having a cracked open a book in the meantime. It wasn't much longer until the door swung open, and in walked my stepfather. He was an imposing figure at five foot eleven, his brown hair was cut short, feathering out around his ears. His eyes were a clear, compromising shade of blue that held a strong degree of kindness for others. But he was anything but weak. As head of the town guard, Naaman was the first and only line of defense the village had, and it was a job he took very seriously._

 _"I'm home, Yesenia!" Naaman's voice was always so calming. He had that ability to just put you at ease with just his words. He hung up his sword on the rack, removing his dirty, muddy boots. Mom would have a fit if he tracked it across her well-cleaned floors."I see you're putting that deer I bagged to good use. It smells great!" He came up, kissing Mom on the cheek before taking a seat at the table. "Hello, Boys, what have you been up to today?"_

 _"The usual, Naaman," I said, taking a large chunk of meat onto my plate. "I was working on my quick draw during archery practice. I managed to get four arrows out in under a minute. Although Kieran said I have to remember not to let my accuracy suffer for it."_

 _"Just telling the truth, E. Although one area you'll always better than me at is in magic." Kieran cut into his baked potato. "No offense to you, Yesenia, I just feel more comfortable with the physical disciplines like archery and swordsmanship. Besides, I figure if Ezra and I are together, he's got the magic aspect nailed down while I get up close with my blade. It's a rather nice little arrangement we've got, huh?" He flashed a big grin at me and we fist bumped, eliciting a light giggle from Mom, and a bemused snort from Naaman._

 _"I'm glad you're not slacking off in your training, boys. I want you to take this to heart and engrave it in your minds. One day you're not going to be swinging swords and firing arrows at just wooden targets or dummies filled with straw and dirt. They will be targets of flesh, blood, and bone. It could be monsters or even other men. They'll have a heart beating inside that chest, just as your hearts are beating right now. If you falter, then you die. If you don't remember anything else, my sons, always remember that a sword isn't meant to be swung without purpose."_

 _It wasn't the first time Naaman had said that to Kieran and I, but they were still profound words to live by. We gave thanks for the meal and started eating. "So, did anything exciting happen while you were on watch today?" I asked, taking a huge bite out of the deer leg I was eating. It had been cooked to perfection, nice and juicy, just how I like it. "Did you see any bandits or monsters roaming about?"_

 _Naaman let out a hearty laugh. "I'm afraid not, Ezra. The most exciting thing that happened was a pair of Goblin scouts lurking in the wastes on the edge of town. they're like ants, you don't kill them immediately they'll tell everyone and before you know it." He moved his thumb horizontally across his throat, both Kieran and I knew what that gesture meant all too well. "It's all over."_

 _Dinner continued as normal, and it was about to end when suddenly, a mad ringing sound cut through the idyllic moment. It was the bell we used to indicate when there was danger. The front door of our house slammed open and one of the town guards ran in, looking frantic. "Naaman, we've got a major problem!" The shift in the room was near automatic. I watched my stepfather switch from a loving caregiver to a hardened career soldier. He got up from the table, going to the other side of the room to speak with him in private._

 _I could only pick up a few words, namely "Order", "Seal", and "Yesenia." Almost immediately I tensed up at that last one. Who would be after my mom? It wouldn't be until much later I understood. Naaman came up to the table, leaning down next to Mom to whisper in her ear, and her green eyes turned a few shades darker. This time Kieran tensed up with me, Mom was, for the most part, a fairly laid-back person, although she had a biting wit and could snark with the best of them. But when she got angry, few survived her wrath, even Naaman, an accomplished warrior in his own right, got a little weary._

 _It wasn't often we saw Mom look worried. She opened the trap door that led to down to the basement where she kept her workshop. "Boys, get down there right now, and do not come out until either your father or I return and give the signal we agreed on!" We knew the signal all too well, Mom had drilled it into both our heads. A double knock would be given, and we would respond with a single knock, and then finally they would triple knockback. I remember that final hug so well, and how though she tried to hide it…Mom was crying. "I love you boys so much. Never forget that!"_

 _"I won't." I struggled to keep from breaking down. Yet I was so afraid, but I had to have faith in Naaman and Mom. They could handle anything. In many ways, the door closing was symbolic, as it represented the door closing on the first chapter of my life. We could hear the sound of footsteps and the door opening and closing as Mom, Naaman, and the guard left the house. Now, when I say we had a basement, it was actually part of a small cavern system that ran through the area. The house was built over an opening in the ground that led down into the system, and Mom refurbished it for her own use._

 _It was still a dank, uncomfortable place. The only light came from the various candles set up around the room. The center of the workshop was dominated by a single large table, with a bookcase set up in the corner, containing an innumerable amount of volumes on the buckling shelves. There was another large table on the other side of the room, set up as a potion lab, and the odor of all the various ingredients combined made for a truly devastating smell._

 _"Ugh, makes me glad I heeded Mom's warnings and never came down here!" Kieran groaned, his face even paler than normal. "The scent alone is enough to kill a person, or at least drive them mad."_

 _"I won't argue with that," I replied, only to get a fresh blast of air right in my face. I looked up to see a small pipe in the ceiling. "Hey, it looks like Mom made sure to keep this place ventilated." We both stood under the pipe, relishing the fact we wouldn't have to endure the cocktail of death that was our mother's potion's ingredients. But then we heard something else, voices, and it sounded like our parents. We looked for another pipe, hoping to catch just what it was they were saying._

 _"It's so nice to see you again, Naaman." the male voice speaking dripped with barely contained, haughty disgust. I could just tell from the smug tone that he was one of those types who looked down his nose on everybody and judged himself superior. "I can't imagine what possessed you to come to a backwater like this…place. What is it called again, Owen?"_

 _"Minas Tor, sir." Another male voice spoke, a clear note of annoyance coloring it. "Naaman, I beseech you to see reason on this. All we want is what Yesenia took from the Cathedral City. If you turn her over to us, then I will guarantee you'll have full clemency for harboring a fugitive if you just ask her to give herself up peacefully and voluntarily. I don't want this to become a bloodbath, Naaman. I certainly know you don't want it either. You know full well what we're capable of."_

 _"I'm certainly aware of that, Owen. It was because of those bloodbaths that I left the Order in the first place!" This surprised both Kieran and I. We had never known that Naaman had been part of whatever this Order was. But our father was only getting warmed up. "As for you, Georg, I'm amazed you decided to get off your lazy ass at all! It must have been so hard to get up from behind your desk. I hope you didn't strain a muscle."_

 _"How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" the man known as Georg's voice went up by three octaves, "No matter how you look at it. She has committed numerous atrocities against the Midgardian Empire, by disrupting a vital government project by years! The High King wants the witch known as Yesenia to answer for her crimes at once! She will return the book and the flower she stole and then depending on how merciful the magistrate is feeling, she'll maybe end up in the dungeons for the rest of her life! You will only get this immunity once, Naaman. Either turn her over now or we will take her by force. The entire village will be considered her accomplices! And you know what that means, don't you?" There was a sadistic glee that neither of us liked._

 _"I need to see what's going on out there!" I exclaimed. "I need to see what's going on up there!" I made for the ladder to climb up, only for Kieran to stop me. "Come on, Kieran, you can't possibly want to sit here while both of our parents, not to mention the entire town, gets annihilated!"_

 _"Follow me." Was all he said. The two of us left the lab, running into a long, winding tunnel, we traveled about ninety yards until we saw a large beam of light. We craned our small necks upward to see a large, rocky outcropping that opened to the still darkening sky. "I was out here playing one day when I found this entrance. I followed it to Mom's lab. We should get a nice full view of everything." After a quick climb up the rocks. We poked our heads out and I won't lie, my heart skipped a few beats at the sight before us. There was a full contingent of Imperial Knights present in their full plate armor, lances at the ready, standing before the wall that surrounded the village._

 _But what caught our attention the most was the group of knights in different colored armor standing at the head of the army. A man clad in brilliant gold armor worn under a pristine white tunic and matching cape stood in the center. "What will it be, Naaman?" The man in white and gold spoke with a hardened sneer on his sunken in face. "I'm certain you don't want anything to happen to your precious little village after all. It's not like anyone will miss the little whore."_

 _"Is that a fact, Georg?" I held my breath when I saw Mom step out onto the ramparts of the wall, looking confident as ever. "If you really want your precious Grimoires back. I'm afraid neither of them is currently in my possession. I gave Verde over to the King of Scandinavia for safekeeping." We both let out a silent cheer at the smug grin on her face. "He is an old friend after all. As for Azure, you'll have to ask a faerie, but they would probably just tell you to take your sword and shove it up your ass. I know I would."_

 _"So it's not enough you stole government property, you turned it over to an enemy nation? Just one more thing to add to the list!" Georg's sneer only grew wider, not to mention uglier, as he slowly drew his sword, a large, menacing saber, pointing it at our parents. "I see any further negotiating is pointless. There's only one true way to deal with rabble such as you!"_

 _"Please, General." A man clad in a more ornate version of the standard Imperial Knight armor said. "There's no need to resort to violence here." His pleas were cut short as Georg lashed out with his arm, catching him the face with his gauntlet covered hand._

 _"Know your place, Owen!" Georg snapped. "Words are clearly wasted on the likes of them. Force is the only way to make them understand their place in the world."_

 _"I couldn't agree more, sir!" A tiny man clad in red armor whined. "This place is the absolute ass end of the world. We should be back in the capital, there was a massive feast at the castle and we had to miss it in order to come here! You know I don't fight well on an empty stomach!"_

 _"Now now, the High King's word is law. He did ask us quite nicely to handle this little problem of his." A tall, male elf spoke in a disarming tone. He was dressed like a dandy, and I would have thought he was a bard if not for the wicked looking spear he had resting on his broad shoulder. "We do have our responsibilities as knights to carry out after all."_

 _"I could really care less." A woman wearing all black drawled in a bored voice. "At the very least I'll be able to get some inspiration for my poetry. I've been going through a dry spell as of late since there have been so few assignments, but a little bloodshed always gets my creative gears turning." Both Kieran and I shivered at the way the woman licked her lips in anticipation at the imminent slaughter._

 _The next of the lead knights about made me want to run back to the lab, crawl up the ladder and hide in my bed. He was wearing full plate armor, black as a thousand midnights, holding a wicked looking scythe with an equally obsidian blade, the helmet was cast in the shape of a skull. I remembered hearing the stories of the Grim Reaper, and at that young age, I wondered if he actually existed, but I was thrown off by what he said next. "I just wish it didn't always have to come down to such circumstances. It would just be easier if they turned themselves in now. I'm certain his Majesty would be merciful if they just show regret for what they had done."_

 _"Oh, we both know that's a load of nonsense!" The woman in black rolled her eyes. "His Majesty would execute them in the most horrific way he could find, but not before torturing them heavily. If there's one thing our esteemed leader is proficient at, is finding brutal ways to dispose of those who anger him. I should know, some of my best work came from those executions."_

 _"I have to agree with her on that one." The elf remarked. "Personally, I think it best to end it here, where it will quick and reasonably painless, rather than let those charming fellows in the dungeon have their way with her."_

 _"I just want to go home and eat!" The man in red armor whined, hopping up and down in a comical manner. It was then the man in the skull armor let out a low growl, banging his scythe on the ground. It made me think he was scowling under that visor, and I'm not sure I wanted a full view of it._

 _"Will the three of you try to take this seriously? This is a matter of life and death! It's not a time to be talking about your ridiculous appetite." He indicated to the man in red armor who looked about ready to throw a full-scale tantrum, "Or your ridiculous poetry!"_

 _"Silence, all of you!" Owen barked, wiping the blood from his mouth. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Forgive me, Naaman. But you leave me no choice." He drew his sword, an action mirrored by all of the warriors present. "Be ready, this could go hot at any moment." The entire scene was dead silent, the battle lines had been clearly marked, and all my brother and I could do was watch._

"Wow, and all this in the first ten minutes!" Raven drawled as he filled his tankard all the way to the very brim with mead. "I should ask everyone I meet their life story, makes for great entertainment!"

"I'm so glad the tragedy of my life amuses you, old man." Ezra rolled his eyes, noticing that despite his bravado, the oldest member of their crew just sipped his drink with the slightest hint of melancholy in his eyes. It was as if a silent moment of understanding passed between them. "Besides, we're just getting started. I haven't even gotten to the best part of it yet."

"This Georg guy sounds like he would have fit in perfectly with Cumore and his crew. Alexei would probably make him his right-hand man. It's because of guys like him that I left the Knighthood in the first place." Yuri's eyes took on a hard edge, finding himself connecting with Naaman just a little bit.

"I'll agree with you there," Estelle said, gently taking hold of Ezra's hand. "Although Owen sounds like a rather decent sort. He reminds me of Flynn. He would always complain about all the abuse and corruption he has to put up with."

"Yesenia sounds cool. She sounds like someone who doesn't take crap from anybody!" Rita said, taking another bowl of stew from Phoebe.

"I figured you would like her. In many ways, I see a lot of Mom in you, albeit a bit more mature." Ezra paid no mind to the angry pout Rita sent his way. "That marked the end of my childhood, but it was just the beginning of this story. It only gets crazier from here."

"Well, don't keep us waiting, Ezra. What happened from there?" Judith asked, her eyes dancing in delight. "'Cause it sounds like a fight's about to happen, and a real doozy at that!"

"Yeah, what about Michael?" Karol asked. This caught Mikhail's attention. "Estelle told me he was a big factor in your life, Ezra. I bet he comes in to save the day, looking all badass!"

"Uh, don't worry, he'll come in eventually," Mikhail said, the hesitation coloring his voice. "Just not the way you're hoping, Karol. If he knew it was going to happen. He would have intervened a lot sooner." This earned him a gentle hug and sisterly kiss on the cheek from Felecia. While Estelle blinked back a few tears.

"I'll admit, Naaman reminds me of Caim quite a bit, strong but gentle at the same time," Furiae said, a small smile coming onto her face.

"Every journey begins with a single step. It's just a shame that the first step for you involved a puddle of blood." Phoebe said sadly, wiping away a few tears. "I can only imagine Owen felt when he ordered the attack on your village, Ezra. It's still very brave of you to tell what happened."

"It was quite a journey, some days harder than others. But we got through it together." Lyris added.

"A lot of people wanted the High King of Midgard dead and with good reason." Fianna looked over to Phoebe, who was just looked down into her soup. Fianna gave the other girl a light pat on the back. "But even if it was all doom and gloom, it didn't mean we didn't have a little fun along the way."

"The definition of fun varies from person to person, Fi," Ezra said. "But I digress. This story of eighteen years is one that should be, needs to be told. I'm just glad that I've got the right people to hear it. Let's pull back the curtain and begin the Battle of Minas Tor."

Ezra grabbed his own tankard of mead and knocked the entire thing back in one long chug. This wasn't part of his history he enjoyed recounting, but since it was asked for, he may as well go all in on it!

 _It was then that all high hell broke loose. I had seen small-scale defensive battles between the town guard, and invading bands of wandering monsters. I had seen a few bodies before. Like the unlucky soul who'd had his throat torn out by wild dogs, or had their skull shattered into a thousand pieces by a well-placed rock from a nasty goblin's shoddily tied together sling. Nothing I had seen previously matched the scale of brutality my stepbrother, and I saw that day. Since then… well, you'll see how the war machine in my world makes soldiers out of men (or carcasses for the vultures to pick at) soon enough._

 _Georg raised his sword to the sky with an evil smile. It was then an overwhelming sound of the charge overtook everything else. The ground shook as the hoofs hundreds of armored horses with plate metal riders tore into the grassy plains surrounding our humble town. It was all silhouetted by the setting sun. The sun's crimson light glinted off their armor, and weapons of death. It would have been a beautiful sight in some story I had been read as a child. It reminded me of the story where these knights… Oh, wait can't get too off topic._

 _It was too bad the sheer doom of the knowledge we were fucked ruined any sense of nostalgia I could have had. In fact, I started having nightmares about knights marauding after this. Lucky me. The cave shook as if we were caught in the throes of an earthquake. Small bits of debris and dust fell from the ceiling above us. I held my breath waiting for the end. I saw brave Kieran doing the same as I. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes. A tear went down Kieran's face. I held his hand for comfort. He squeezed back. I could feel his grip tremble against mine. It was true that even the strongest of us could lose hope._

 _It was hard to believe I held a small sliver of hope. "Don't worry, K," I said, trying my best to sound like I believed it. "Your dad and my mom are an unbeatable team together. There's no bandit, monster, or knight that could best them. Not between Naaman's sword, and mom's lightning bolts." Kieran had no response. He only held my hand tighter as the battle progressed into sheer chaos between the dozens of guards in our town, and the hundreds of knights._

 _It wasn't a contest. The knights had already broken into the gates. I could already see the knights cutting into our father's men with ease. Ease that told me that these bastards weren't knights. They were killers. I could say for sure there was no honor among this army of cutthroats. Nothing like the knights lead by noble kings who protected the realm of the fairy tales mom used to read to us at night._

 _The reality was all a chaotic riot of dust, blood, and steel all coming together to form a devastating calamity named war. Quickly, we saw that the battle wasn't only limited to hardened warriors. Some of our neighbors had taken to arming themselves. They'd armored themselves with kitchen pots as makeshift helms, and decided to use simple household axes or pitchforks as weapons. They looked a mite bit foolish. Considering what I know of battle today, I know for sure that the better part of bravery is foolishness. A friend always liked to speak of the folly of humanity in their use of violence. That brave men choose not to be born rather than fight. I always disagreed with that sentiment. Braver still is the man that stands against the tide of oppression._

 _I watched in horror as Mr. Anders, the local herbalist, fell to the ground as his head flew from his body, courtesy of an axe to the back of his neck. I could see the fear written in his face as his disembodied head bounced on the ground and came to rest in the blooded grass. It was a stern lesson I would come to learn about bravery in the coming years. Standing against the tide did not mean you would not be swallowed whole by it._

 _However, there are men who stand against it and do not show fear. An unexpected flash of blood traveled through the air, spattering against the side of the house. The giant armored axe man looked on in horror himself as Naaman descended upon him. He made short work of the man as he severed the head from his body. It wasn't a moment before he kicked the onion-shaped helm into the crowd. It struck a knight in the side of the head. Naaman moved with a flash of speed as I saw him sever the man's arm and make the decisive killing blow. He'd cut into several men in the process, moving so fast I couldn't even follow it._

 _Naaman showed off more of his prowess, demonstrating the special techniques he had developed over the years. I saw his massive blade flare with power as he swung in a massive vertical slash, releasing the energy in a massive blade of power. It flew toward a hapless spear wielder, cutting him in twain. To our surprise a pair of other beams split outward, striking down his comrades on either side. His faithful blade flashed once again, and he swung it about in a wide, horizontal arc, causing a wave of energy to fly out in all directions, eviscerating row after row of enemy troops, blood splattering the ground._

 _I'd quickly forgotten about the demise of the kindhearted Mr. Anders. This was the face of a true warrior at work. Soaked in blood, and unafraid in the face of battle. That's how I pictured myself wanting to be. I wanted to contribute to this fight. And do battle as a man alongside Naaman. That was always my truest wish. In a way, I still wish I could stand with him today. And have him tell me he was proud. That I was a true warrior who'd stood up against all odds for right. I think myself as a man today, but it's factual my heart still contains such childish sentiment. I suppose we never grow up when we think of being granted the approval of your parents._

 _As a child, I cheered not understanding the grimness of the burden. "There's your dad, Kieran!" I quietly shouted in a half whisper. A moment later, I heard lightning crack. A man exploded into gore as the bright blue light struck his body and arced between several knights after him. It was a literal bloodbath as these men turned into curds of meat, and blood in their own suits. It was disturbing to witness happen as blood leaked from the seams of their armor. They were literally flash cooked alive in their armor. I still have my dreads about suffering a similar fate. This is partially why I don't wear full plate armor. I'm sure Rita has disposed of many a ne'er-do-well in such a manner. Pure Mages are truly worthy of our fear, and respect for their powers over the elements._

 _Mother sauntered into the fray, looking unperturbed by the violent deaths she'd inflicted on the enemy. My mother was missing her apron, and a simple dress of a housekeeper. She was now clothed in a black jacket with a furred collar, tight black leather pants, and black thigh boots to complete the ensemble. It was the attire of a proper mage, charms of protection adorned her outfit. I'm sure every bit of jewelry she wore was enchanted in some way. I had seen mother in finery like this before when she'd leave town on trips to seek out new ingredients in. It reminded me she wasn't some peasant woman. She'd always had the glow of nobility from my stories and now I understood why. She did not belong in the ass end of nowhere like Minas Tor. Mother belonged in the court of a ruler, weaving spells and brewing potions for the sake of exploring the mysteries of the world. Something told me this was the very reason why she was here. It did not take an adult to figure out that my mother made the wrong liege mad. That's why we were here in the first place to hide from his kingly wrath._

 _Mom was truly a woman of petrifying beauty and grace as she casually strolled alongside Naaman. She disassembled people down to their base atoms with her magics as her husband recklessly chopped and stabbed at their enemies. I was right. Naaman and Mom were a force to be reckoned with. My mother a manifestation of the elements, and Naaman the peerless swordsman with no quarter for his foes. It made my being rise with the expectation of being able to ride out this storm. Knights fell like flies at their feet, blood coating the grass like a fresh coat of crimson paint. It was truly bloody opening to the summer months._

 _Mom showed off more of her craft, she made an almost idle gesture with her hand, snapping her fingers, the sky suddenly darkened as clouds appeared from nowhere, rain beginning to fall. I remember the hostile smirk she gave all of them. "Hope you waterproofed those things, boys. They'll rust." Massive bolts of white and blue lightning stabbed down, causing death by the dozens, it was a gruesome sight to be sure, their bodies twitching uncontrollably, dancing like marionettes on strings._

 _But it didn't stop there, the lightning flashed outwards, hitting anyone unfortunate enough to be close. A chain of electric death surrounded my mother. The hapless knights turned to hideous blobs of molten steel and charred flesh. And then the rain vanished as quickly as it had come, and the sky was crystal blue once more. Lifeless bodies all falling to the ground._

 _"Georg calls this an attack? I have seen better offensives waged by livestock on grass." My mother said aloud with disdain, she raised a hand stopping a stray arrow in midair with what seemed like pure will alone. She plucked it out of the air, twirling it between her fingers like a deadly baton. She dodged underneath a knight's sword with the grace of a prizefighter. And laid a simple palm on the man's armor. She uttered a simple incantation, causing the man to go flying back with a blue glow about him. It was then he exploded into his companions with the force of a bomb._

 _Mother deployed a shield against the force of the flash with what seemed like a casual dismissal of her hand. There was a rain of gore that spattered against the magic barrier. It all vanished with a heated sizzle against the blue tinted wall. Mother snorted, causing the arrow within her grasp to glow with a simple incantation. It cracked with electricity. With a simple flick of her wrist, the arrow went flying, piercing the bodies of several enemies. It returned into her dark leather gloved hand covered in gore an instant later. She regarded it with vague interest before she went back to twirling it between her fingers once more._

 _Naaman watched this display with great admiration, and I'll say without a doubt he was just a little turned on by it. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were working out some issues, dear." He said before impaling his opponent before slicing upwards, ducking underneath another's warhammer, before back kicking him in the chest._

 _"Why I have no idea what you're talking about." Mom took hold of dad's blade, powering it up with a lightning spell. "Do me a favor and get rid of that one guy." She indicated to a very large soldier, wearing no armor, instead just a pair of leather pants and carrying a huge axe, not to mention half his face looked melted off. "His face sickens me, do something about it."_

 _Naaman just shrugged, running at the big goon, lightning arcing off his sword as he drew back to the right. The blade slashed horizontally from right to left across the big lug's midsection, causing him to bellow out in pain, he swung the axe, but Naaman danced around him, the sword bouncing back left to right, and then repeating the process two more times. All the while this was happening light from the arcing electricity trailing behind it, forming a square before fading away, the axe wielder falling down in four large chunks. Naaman sheathed his blade. "Does that work for you dear?" She just smiled and clapped lightly. Mom always did have a dry sense of humor._

 _She turned to see a large group of nearly a dozen soldiers advancing on her, thinking that strength of numbers would win them the day. It would have worked if it was a lesser mage they were facing. Mom just looked bored, raising both her hands and flicking her fingers outward, causing them to all stop dead in their tracks. She then raised her hands up, causing them to all levitate in the air flailing their arms and legs to no avail. A playful smile traced its way across my mother's lips and she began making sweeping gestures with her arms, juggling them in mid-air._

 _A snap of her left arm and two soldiers vanished into the afternoon sky never to be seen again, I hope they had a soft landing. A twitch of her right wrist downward and one soldier became intimately acquainted with the ground, his body slamming into the dirt, leaving only his feet exposed. She turned three more into heavy living javelins, sending them flying into the enemy ranks, sending them all flying like bowling pins. Having had enough of her fun, Mom stopped the remaining soldiers, and just crushed their armor with the sheer force of her mind._

 _But the coup de grace had yet to be delivered. Mom stood in the middle of the field, Dad at her side, as they were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers now. They were really getting desperate. She just threw her hair over her shoulder. "I guess it's time for the grand finale." Mom began uttering a rapid series of incantations while her hands moved in a series of elaborate gestures, her hands aglow with magical energy, she slammed them against the earth, causing a huge shockwave to fly out in all directions, it seemed to miss the knights, but when they looked behind them, it was all too clear what her final spell had done._

 _The very ground itself rose up in a massive wave of dirt and rocks, I'd wager that it reached almost twenty feet high. The soldiers were really panicking now. They were trapped and had nowhere to go. They could only watch their demise as the wave crashed down on them, swallowing them up and entombing them under several hundred tons of earth. It all came to a stop just inches from Mom and Naaman's feet. If this had been a competition demonstrating magical prowess, she would have won first place just for that alone!_

Ezra's eyes were distant as he looked around the table at his recently found friends, all of them were quite entranced by the story, and wanted to hear more. _"_ By, and large mother seemed to be nonplussed by all the death she was inflicting, dangerously beautiful in her aloof attitude. If I could not be a fearless swordsman, I wanted to be a conduit for the lightning-like my mother. Her powers contended with the god of storms from the north I had been told stories of. Yesenia of Underberg was a goddess of magic in my eyes. In the years since, I have not seen another mage that could match her raw talent or harsh apathy to destruction."

He paused a little bit, his lip twitching for the barest fraction of a second before he continued. "Well, that isn't entirely accurate. There is someone who wreaked as much havoc. A goddess of war and destruction, clad in white and covered in blood."

"I'll say!" Rita's voice carried genuine awe and approval as she swirled her spoon around in the bowl. Clearly, she had been taken with the story of Yesenia's magical rampage. "A Goddess of Magic indeed! The chain lightning alone is impressive, but making all those soldiers into her personal circus and finishing them with the mass grave like that at the end. Your mother is a true powerhouse!"

"And quite the lethal beauty it seems. Not to mention with a penchant for tight black leather." Raven wore a grin a mile wide. "I have a very clear image of Yesenia in her mage garb, and I like it a lot! You described her a little too vividly if you ask me, Ezra." He ignored the sharp glares from the women at the table.

Rita frowned, deep in thought. "As fascinating as I find this. I do have a couple of questions for you, Ezra. Magic can't be used unless you have a Blastia of some kind unless you're like Estelle. Yet I've seen you, Phoebe, and Furiae all tossing out spells left and right and I don't recall any of you saying you had one. That magic had to come from somewhere, right?" She folded her arms across her chest. "So where did it?"

Ezra silently cursed Rita's scientific curiosity. He remembered that the laws of nature worked differently than in their native land. The only but since he saw so much of his mother in the young girl. He decided to humor her. "It's a bit involved. To put it in simplest terms, we have a special organ for that." Rita's attention was fully on Ezra now. Her analytical mind just ready to begin breaking down the technical aspects of it. "It's called a mana lobe. It's what allows us to use magic in our world."

The light had now gone off in the fire mage's aquamarine eyes. "I have to study something like that if just to see how it works." The possibilities were already coalescing in her mind. "If people from this dimension possess this mana lobe or something similar to it, then we won't have to give up magic! Barring Judith and Felecia, we're all human, so our biology can't be that different."

"For the record, I'm only half-elf. Elves, or Krityans as you guys call them, also invented magic! It's only a matter, of course, we have them, too!" Felecia cut in helpfully. "My father was human. And if you're looking for alternatives to using Blastia. There's another device you should consider as well. They're called Mana Converters, and they do pretty much the same thing, but instead of being harvested from Entelexeia, they're made from crystallized mana." She glanced at Ezra, gesturing to him. A grin manifested on her lips. "Ezra, show them what I'm talking about."

He clenched his hand into a fist and a complex magic circle wavered into existence, emanating a golden light. Rita was on it in a second, wanting to analyze it in every minute detail. She leaned in close, almost too close. "Curious, very curious indeed. I don't see any kind of crystal or bauble on you. Where is this coming from?"

"Just from me, like any other self-respecting mage. Just because there's no physical vessel, doesn't mean the magic isn't there. Because I can feel it every day." Ezra stated, smirking haughtily. He was so proud of himself that it radiated off him as he explained. "A Mana Converter is basically a really advanced magical formula, and once the user becomes powerful enough, then the formula merges with them. And this right here is one of the most powerful of all, the Seal of Solomon, also known as the Seal of Kings. Solomon was the first known mage on our world. and this was his masterpiece."

Rita's mouth watered. Getting far too close for Ezra's comfort. She grabbed at Ezra's wrist, bringing up her spectacles with the special magnifying attachment flipped into place. "First chance we get, you are going to let me study this, no questions asked!"

"Down girl," Ezra said, gently pushing her away. Rita's shoulders slumped in defeat. For now, Rita Mordio never said die when it came to her research. Ezra thoughtfully said, "It's a shame Accord herself isn't here, she was a better storyteller than I ever was."

"You meant that weird, merchant girl that just seems to pop up whenever she feels like it?" Yuri asked, remembering a young woman with glasses and long dark hair in twin ponytails, carrying an absurdly large suitcase visiting them from time to time, and how she walked in the weirdest fashion. "There was always something weird about her."

"Yeah, I felt the same way. The way she walked just looked so unnatural." Karol piped up, a shiver going down his spine.

"She was still pretty easy on the eyes though," Raven remarked, beaming once again. "Don't tell me she's another of your girlfriends, Ezra? Come on now, you can tell old Raven every little detail. And if she's not your girlfriend, then is she available?" This made the entire Midgard contingent break out into riotous laughter. "What?" Raven asked.

Ezra struggled to regain his composure, holding back the impulse to display how tickled he was. He smiled knowingly. "You sound like a friend of ours. Well, let's just say she's not like other people. All she's really interested in is recording what she's been sent to observe, and I don't think she's really in the mood for small talk. So, I'm afraid to say you two would be incompatible. Sorry, Raven." The older man just shrugged, taking a piece of bread. It wasn't like there weren't plenty of other skirts for him to chase and not bed, saying he wasn't good enough.

Although Estelle hadn't taken the comment that well if the pout on the pinkeye's face was any indication. Fianna was quick to pick up on this. "Aw, it seems someone is jealous!" She put an arm around her, Estelle flushed a shade of hot pink that matched her hair. "Of course, you might have good reason, Estelle. I mean, let's face it, you, Phoebe, and Furiae are all princesses, and you're all hot pieces of sliz."

"What? They're princesses?" Karol asked suddenly, unsurprisingly bemused.

Phoebe bowed her head, blushing profusely, and Furiae's reaction was less than enthusiastic if the way the heavy iron mace she was wielding was any indication. "You wanna say that again, Fianna?" She spoke in a menacing voice. "I don't know what 'sliz' means, but it sounds degrading!"

Fianna blanched. Her mouth went agape at Furiae's mad brandishing of the deadly, deadly weapon. She was right to fear Furiae because she'd cracked many a skull open with it. Both monster, and man. "Where the heck did you get that? Don't tell me you're coming to dinner armed!"

"Does it bother you that much?" Furiae's smirk scaring more than a few people. Ezra stood back, more amused than frightened. She raised her mace, shouldering the implement of death. Her finger tapped lightly on the handle as she spoke. "Need I remind you that Yuri always has his katana handy. Between that and Repede, he's always ready for combat. I wanted to be prepared myself. And you're one to talk since I know you're packing knives, and Felecia has those hidden blades on her wherever she goes, so I don't see the problem at all!"

Yuri was taken aback by the princess' bubbleheaded jump in logic. "Uh, I'd like to go on record and say that it's pure force of habit for me. I always get attacked a lot, so it was just easier that way."

"Wow, you guys are all terrifying!" Karol whimpered a little.

"That's why we're always ready to go. It's what makes us all such a superb team." Ezra said, trying to steer the conversation in a positive direction.

"I'll drink to that!" Lyris said in wholehearted agreement, knocking back her tankard of juice. Her choice was just as well because she couldn't hold her liquor as well as Fianna.

"Hmph, they may be no I in team, but they're definitely a me in it!" Rita said flatly, snorting derisively. "Let's face it, you'd all be lost without me!"

Phoebe broke any potential arguments up, grabbing Furiae by the back of her dress and pulling her down into her seat. Furiae sulked as she stared into her bowl, the neglected mace sitting uselessly in her lap. "Not here at the dinner table, Furiae. I worked too hard to make this dinner. I won't have spoiled just because Fianna got under your skin. Honestly, you're the only healer I know of that has a gentle and murderous side. If I didn't know any better, I'd say anger fits are genetic in your family."

"I'm okay with it! It's fine!" Mikhail chirped, letting out a childish titter. "It makes me think of Zero when she gets all smashy. Although Furiae is a lot nicer to me. She doesn't hit me with her mace and call me a dummy." The white-haired boy looked almost wistful as he talked about it.

Felecia just shook her head, quizzically starring at Mikhail. "Only you would look on that woman's abuse and be nostalgic about it. Zero was an absolute hot mess and we all know it!"

"Who's Zero then?" Judith asked inquisitively. "Is she the Goddess in White you mentioned earlier, E? It sounds like it. If so, then she must be an absolute beast when she fights!" The Krityan woman's eyes took on a wild sparkle. If there was anything Judith loved, it was a good brawl.

Yuri just chortled. "Oh, she's worked up now. I'll admit I'm curious too. I enjoy a good fight as much as the next guy, but if you're comparing her to your mother. Then she must be an outright monster then." The black-haired katana wielder smiled, fondling his katana's hilt eagerly. Something about the prospect of fighting a "monster" drove his blood up as well.

Ezra nodded solemnly. There was a nostalgic gleam in his eyes as he spoke. "Actually Yuri, calling Zero a monster is a perfect term. In many ways, she was one of the worst kind of monsters because she looked human, and I loved her none the less. I loved a monster in human form, so imagine if I told you that there were five more of her?"

"Oh really?" Raven asked, curiosity rising. The lecherous leering grin returning. "Tell me, were they hot?" Rita let out an exasperated noise, half tempted to pull the older man's face into his soup. "Oh come now! It's a perfectly legitimate question! I'm fully in my rights to ask."

"Of course, you'd lead off with that question. Your brain's not in your head, it's dangling between your damn legs!" Rita snapped, slamming her hand on the table for emphasis.

Estelle giggled innocently. "Now I can see why people always say you're like an old married couple." She clapped her hands together as she said it. Rita turning pale in horror at the implication. "I have to say it's quite adorable." This made Rita scream and begin gagging in disgust at the thought.

Karol then spoke up, sounding rather annoyed. "Hello? Did no one hear me earlier? I mentioned that we have three princesses traveling with us? I mean, we seriously need answers here."

Rita ground, palming her face. "You're the only one who didn't notice? What, did you think Furiae and Phoebe were just ordinary peasant girls? This is just like with Estelle! Hell, even I saw it! You are such a dummy! How oblivious can you really be?" Mikhail let out an excited squeal of joy. "What, midget?" She asked, angrily. Gifting the pint-sized albino with an odd look.

"Can you call me Dummy just the way you did now, Rita? Zero said it to me just like that! Just like that! It's a dead ringer!" Only to receive a very light smack to the back of his head courtesy of Phoebe. "What was that for?" He whined, his eyes stinging with tears.

"Please Mikhail, the last thing we need is for you to end up like Decadus. He was an absolute gentleman to be sure, but he was not right in the head." Phoebe shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She pulled her blue woolen shawl around herself in the process. It was as if the reminder made the cabin much colder for her.

Only for Ezra to begin speaking in a deep voice, obviously mocking the man named Decadus. "Oh, Lady Phoebe, ugh. The fact you would deprive young Mikhail to emulate me is…so cruel. Too cruel for words my lady. Hungh." This made Mikhail, and the other girls start laughing, while Yuri, Rita, Estelle, and the others wonder why they'd laugh at something so creepy.

Rita growled under her breath, shaking her head furiously. "And here I thought Raven was a perv. If I ever met this Decadus character, he'd be getting a class A Mordio bitchslap! And then some flames for good measure!"

"Go right ahead, he'd love it," Phoebe said half-jokingly, causing the engineer to flinch.

Felecia nodded, her grim expression telling all. "The man was a textbook masochist, he got off on the pain. He'd jump right into your fireball for the pleasure of it." She broke out a mocking chuckle at the last moment. "That being said, Rita, you would have been a perfect replacement to Four for Decadus."

The blue haired mage's expression soured considerably. In all the time Yuri and his friends had known Phoebe, she had always been a gentle type, often acting as a peacekeeper of sorts, they never thought she could get so enraged. "Four, do not even get me started on her, Felecia!" Her hands curled into fists, her fingernails digging into her palms in her uncharacteristic anger. "I worked my fingers to the bone to keep her kingdom running and look at how she repaid me! No greater bitch in sheep's clothing ever existed!"

"You don't have to remind me, P." Felecia's scowl was equally dark, causing both Karol and Mikhail to whimper a little bit, she stood up, slamming her fist into her table, "Remember what that pigtailed witch did to my people just because she didn't like them. Not to mention she killed Eric!"

"Oh, that's right," Phoebe said, immediately apologetic. "I forgot we both have a history with Four. I didn't mean to bring any bad memories back up."

"It's okay. We got her in the end." Felecia's cruel sneer unnerved Rita. She snickered grimly. "I'll be totally honest, I relished every moment when we gutted her like the worthless pig she was! She even squealed like one before we chucked her over the side of the airship."

Yuri blinked, seeing a good deal of himself in this girl suddenly. She was not the type to suffer evil without resistance. "This was more than just a catfight over a boy." He observed dryly. "She is your own personal Cumore or Ragou."

"She was." Phoebe and Felecia said at once in unison. Phoebe sidled up to Felecia, taking her hand into hers. She squeezed tenderly to remind the half-elf she was here for her. Felecia's anger had been surprisingly quelled, she smiled gratefully at the blue haired mage. And Phoebe returned it wordlessly, such small comfort was only what a friend would offer.

"Are these girls all named after numbers or something?" Judith asked sardonically, leaning forward on her steepled fingers. "I mean, we have Zero and now Four? Whoever their papa was, he must have been the uncreative or drunk sort…. If not both at once."

"That is correct, Judith," Ezra said, chuckling as he raised his fingers one at a time. "Zero, One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. They are all central players in this story, but Zero wasn't always known by that name. She was known by another. However, before we can get to her, there's still the matter of what happened to my parents. Even though they had managed to wreck all those normal soldiers, Georg, Owen, and the Seal Guardians hadn't entered the fray, and when they did…"

 _Mom and Naaman stood proudly amidst the field of corpses, it was quite the pile of murder they stood atop. They turned their attention to Georg and his subordinates, who had watched the massacre unfold. The leader of the Order just idly clapped. "Splendid display you two. We can add murder to the list of charges against you. But your playtime is now over!" He drew his blade, brandishing it in a menacing manner. "Guardians, deal with these heretic criminals!"_

 _The four knights drew their respective weapons and slowly began advancing on Mom and Naaman. "I guess if I can't enjoy the banquet, I'll just take it out on you! I'm sure your blood will taste extra rich!" The red-clad knight cackled madly as he tapped his axe in gloved hands, a mad gleam in his eyes. Mom just looked at him dismissively. I'll be honest, it would be hard for anyone to take him seriously._

 _"I'm sorry, Zhangpo. I'm afraid my blood wouldn't be able to provide much in the way of sustenance. Too much iron, besides I enjoy my blood where it is, thank you very much." She levitated the arrow in the air. "So how about I let you play with my little friend then?" She let the projectile fly right at him. Only for it to be knocked out of the sky with a single slash of his axe. Mom frowned. "Oh well, I suppose that old trick couldn't work on just anybody."_

 _"How about I show you my take on it!" Zhangpo cackled once more. He began twirling his axes in his hands, the leading edge beginning to take on a dim red glow. As he continued to spin, the axe heads soon ignited into flames. "Watch them fly!" He yelled, hurling them out, the weapons spinning at such great speed appearing as circles of fire. They skimmed along the ground toward Mom. I learned that day she wasn't just a powerful mage, but also a very skilled acrobat._

 _She remained standing as the flaming discs raced on, intent on decapitating her. Mom gracefully backflipped out of the way, grabbing at a sword on the ground. She powered it up with her lightning magic, batting aside the first spinning fire axe before twisting her body to the side and avoiding the other._

 _Zhangpo looked about ready to throw a tantrum as the axes returned to his hands. It was then he remembered there was still a battle raging on as Mom hurled the still sparking blade at him. Of course, it landed point in the ground. Mom conjured up a huge lightning bolt using the metal sword as a lightning rod. But unlike the normal soldiers, Zhangpo was prepared, raising his twin axes, now glowing red. He used them as a makeshift shield, deflecting her spell up into the sky._

 _Mom chuckled in amusement. "That's actually fairly inventive for a midget like you. Or are you just an actual dwarf? If so then stuffing your face at the buffet isn't going to make you grow any faster, Zhang." She could only watch in amusement as the red-clad man leaped up and down in childish rage. The comedic moment was broken up as a heavy mist slowly wrapped around the battleground. Mom looked around, a telekinetically assisted leap high into the air the only thing saving her from being locked in a frozen tomb, courtesy of the field of ice spikes conjured by the depressed looking chick._

 _She made a very graceful landing as the ice dissipated as quickly as it vanished. The depressed chick slowly advanced on her, lance pointed at the ground. "It's a pity things had to end this way, Lady Yesenia." She spoke in that same dull tone. "Still, I'm sure I'll be quite inspired once we're done here." Bringing her weapon up. "In fact, I think I already have a title for it, how does 'Lilac and Gooseberries' grab you? Since that's what your perfume always smells like."_

 _"Sure, that's how I want to remembered for all time, a subject of one of your ridiculous poems, Hanch. I think that pact you made affected your brain as well as your looks!" Yesenia rolled her eyes as her hand came up, the lightning arcing off her fingers. "You know, I bet you could do with a little electroshock therapy? It could go a long way to get you out of that depression. It's quite common amongst mage to use electricity to treat depression and clear up addled minds, and I can't think of a more addled mind than yours."_

 _Mom's words seemed to actually get under Hanch's skin. "You of all people should know that I can't express happiness." She was starting to look angry. "The only way I can express myself is through pain and suffering."_

 _"And let's not forget that bad poetry." Zhangpo piped up._

 _"Silence! You're only helping the enemy!" Hanch hissed._

 _"Oh, trust me, I don't need any extra help." Mom's grin was so smug. The would-be Goth seemed to finally have enough of all the taunting if the way the lance came down was any indication. An icy wind formed around the tip. She let out a wordlessly cry charging at Mom. Who once again showed off her acrobatic prowess. She slipped out of the way at the last minute as the tip of the lance plunged into the ground, turning the entire area into ice. Mom then ran up to the length of the spear, kneeing Hanch in the face, a sickening crack to indicate her nose was broken._

 _"Oh, you bitch!" Hanch raged, struggling to keep the blood from spurting out of her mangled nose. Mom looked unperturbed, as she held a hand out, and an ethereal looking sword coalesced into view. It was a wicked looking thing, colored a deep metallic shade inlaid with filigree in a deep blood red color. The handle curved back slightly capped off by a blade with a serrated edge. Mom swept through the air in a graceful circle, her spectral weapon ready for a backhanded swing that would take her head clean off._

 _Zhangpo then intervened, his flaming axes high overhead. Mom had no choice but to parry him. The diminutive knight slashed upwards with his right-hand axe, while bringing the left hand one to get her across the stomach. She kicked him in the head, sending him flying back. Mom was starting to get tired, she conjured up a second blade identical to the first. It was clear that despite her strength, she was starting to tire, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. Mom had never been the type to quit._

 _At the same time, Naaman was squaring off against Death Man and the Dandy Elf. He wore a neutral expression, but I could see just the slightest hint of sadness in his eyes. I remembered that Georg said Naaman was a part of their outfit at one point, so he must have known these guys. "Hello Yaha, Urick." He addressed the Dandy Elf and Death Man respectively. "The last time I saw you two, you were just pages on the brink of becoming squires, so I guess you passed your final trials?"_

 _"Indeed, Captain, we're both Lieutenants now." Yaha said, giving his staff a dramatic twirl, before slamming it against the ground and causing a minor shockwave to flow outwards as a display of his power. "I'm sorry it came to this sir. You were a true inspiration to all of us younger guys."_

 _"It's the reason we pushed on to become full Knights after all," Urick added. "It's sad to see you would turn to such villainy. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was because Yesenia bewitched you." He pointed his scythe at his former superior. "I implore you one last time to think your actions through, Captain. If not for yourself, then at least for Kieran. I can't imagine you want him to be orphaned because of this."_

 _"It's because of Kieran I helped Yesenia in the first place., Urick." Naaman brandished his sword in a high guard position. "Not to mention Ezra as well. What I did was for both of them, not to mention anyone with the slightest degree of sanity. You don't know what Georg really has planned, if you did, you'd turn your blade on him in a second!"_

 _All this got was a hollow laugh from Yaha. "Oh, you adopted that demon's spawn as well? Very cute. We'll kill the boy when we find him. I guarantee it won't be quick either. But Kieran we'll spare. At least he hasn't been tainted by this madness." The elf man named Yaha had just pushed the one button guaranteed to make Naaman and Mom angry. He looked ready to shout something, only for Mom to stop him._

 _"Not yet, dear! Save it for later." Mom glared at Yaha. Both Kieran and I could feel the aura of power emanating from her, laced with a heavy dose of killing intent. "For that remark, every one of you is going to die, and you'll be last, Yaha. I will make sure of that. It will be slow and deliberate, and every second will feel like an eternity to you!" She snarled. "I've come up with something new, it's called waterboarding, and it will be supplemented with plenty of lightning. I hope you have a strong stomach for it!"_

 _"Just let me handle this dear. You've got your own hands full after all." He held his sword perpendicular to the ground. "Come on and show me how much you've grown from the boys I remember you as." Yaha smirked just a little, Urick's expression was unreadable due to the mask he wore. But it was clear both men weren't weaklings from how they wielded their weapons._

 _Yaha started it off by slamming his staff on the ground, causing the entire ground to shake beneath him. The ground fragmented and began thrusting up and down as a result of the tremor. Naaman was struggling to keep on his feet, launching another Blade Beam at Yaha, who managed to deflect the worst of it, When the second beam headed for Urick, the sight was enough to turn both of our stomachs. He literally began melting into the ground, avoiding it entirely._

 _The elven dandy went in for close quarters combat, the staff and Naaman's sword connecting several times. While it was reinforced with steel bands, I imagine it was mostly due to it being reinforced by magic that kept it from being reduced to splinters. Yaha swung low, looking to break Naaman's legs. But he was far too nimble to go out like that. He jumped over it, rolling to the side, only for a hand to suddenly erupt from the ground, holding him in place._

 _Yaha's staff came down for an overhead swing, it would have crushed Naaman's skull into thousands of tiny pieces. But my stepfather didn't get to where he was by being unskilled. He jerked his leg, seeming to pull Urick out of the ground, and then I understood just what his power was, he could meld with the shadows. A pretty cool trick, I'd like to admit. Urick brought up his scythe for a wide sweeping arc, clearly aimed at decapitating him. But Naaman just stepped back. The tip of the steel blade barely avoided going through the front of Naaman's shirt._

 _"That was quite the close shave there, Captain. Could it be that the time you spent in this backwater has made you soft?" Yaha let out an effeminate laugh. He tapped the ground again, causing another tremor, this time causing a series of rocky spires to erupt from the ground. Naaman wasn't able to avoid it all this time, one catching square in the armored breastplate he wore. It was the first time someone had actually managed to hit either of them in the battle up to this point._

 _I wasn't the only one who had seen it. Mom clearly had wanted to help him, but she was hemmed in by Hanch and Zhangpo. Naaman staggered to his feet. Urick then pressed the attack, using the shadows to appear behind him, ready to add Naaman's blood to the copious amounts littering the ground. Only for a lightning bolt from Mom to intersect it. She and Naaman regrouped, both of them showing signs of wearing out now._

 _"I must say, this has been quite the warm-up. But I think it's time for us to get serious now." Urick said. "I'm sorry it came to this Naaman, but you brought it upon yourself. Everyone, call them up now!" He called to the others. Zhangpo began cackling louder than ever before and Hanch almost looked she could manage a smile. Glowing magic circles appeared on the ground and a selection of nightmarish beasts began crawling out of them._

 _A demon with a massive horn coming out of his forehead coated in flames appeared behind Zhangpo. A sinister looking sea creature with the upper body of a horse, a serpentine lower body, and wings resembling those of a dragon soon floated behind Hanch, a small army of goblin-like creatures wearing gardening attire carrying plows as weapons stood at attention before Yaha, but it was Urick's pact beast that was the most terrifying as it loomed from the shadows behind his partner. From the skeletal face to the jagged point of his spinal column, it was the Reaper himself!_

 _Mom and Naaman looked at the collection of sinister looking critters surrounding them. All the while Georg laughed out loud, so hard I wondered if he'd be able to keep on his feet. "Do get it now? Do you understand just what kind of power you two are up against? Hand over the Flower and the Grimoires and I'll be sure you'll have a quick execution!"_

 _I'd give the evil speech about a 7.6, maybe add on an extra half point for trying to be menacing. But it seemingly fell on deaf ears. "Your knights have formed pacts. Okay, that does give them a slight edge over the average soldier." Naaman remarked before his eyes narrowed. "But certainly, you haven't forgotten…they're not the only one who forged a pact! LEGNA!" His voice reverberated over the entire battlefield, and it was followed by an unearthly roar that shook the very ground, causing the two of us to nearly be knocked from our perch back down into the tunnel._

 _A black shape circled overhead, swooping down low. It kicked up a huge cloud of dust, obscuring everyone's vision. when it cleared, both Kieran and I could only look on, wondering if this was all just a dream. A dragon, an honest to God, flying, fire-breathing DRAGON, now stood behind our parents. Naaman said nothing, just getting up on the dragon's back. "Let's see just what your men are capable of now, Georg!"_

 _The dragon roared as it ascended into the clear blue sky. Mom raised her arms and the storm returned. It was now apparent the real battle was about to begin, and with it, the start of nightmares that haunt me even to this very day._

 _The fire demon lunged at the dragon, shooting out long streams of fire from its hands. Naaman and his partner were quick to respond firing a gout of flame. The two beasts of fire were joined by the dragon-fish, spewing a massive column of water, the three attacks intersected, producing a huge cloud of steam. It was hard not to admire just how badass Naaman looked astride that majestic looking beast._

 _Zhangpo and Hanch had both merged with their pact beasts, so it was a little chilling to hear Zhangpo's cackle reverberate on the wind. "Ha ha ha! A dragon! This will be a true feast to behold! Come Ifrit. Let's see whose flames are stronger!" The demon roared, rushing to slash at the dragon's side with flaming claws. But Naaman was faster, spurring the dragon to rear up and slam a wing down on the demon's head._

 _"Quickly Kelpie!" Hanch's ethereal voice uttered, the water pact-beast body slammed Naaman's dragon from behind, followed by whipping its tail around to try and knock him to the ground, only for the dragon to counter with its own tail, slapping the dragon-fish across the face. It would have been almost comical if the pact-beast didn't clamp down on the dragon's neck following that, causing it to roar in pain. Naaman grimaced and struggled to keep on the dragon's back._

 _The demon lunged, raking its fiery talons across the ebony scales. The dragon managed to shake off its attackers, greeting the demon with a veritable firestorm directly to its face. Before clamping down on the fish creature, drawing blood. The dragon spun about, sending the fish flying, before throwing another column of fire out, only for the demon to get in front of its partner, guarding it._

 _As Naaman clashed with Hanch and Zhangpo in the air, Mom was dealing with Yaha and Urick on the ground. The goblin-creatures cackling in anticipation as their master spoke. "Behold my pact-beasts, the gnomes. They are but mere children, however, they so love to inflict pain. You will find them to be quite the challenge even for a woman of your skill and power, Lady Yesenia." Yaha's rant was cut short by the crack of thunder as two of the gnomes were sent flying, bodies aflame, before landing at his feet._

 _"You know I remember when I was a little girl. We had a huge gnome infestation. A well-timed lightning bolt takes care of them real fast. Of course, if I was bored, I'd just send them flying with my telekinesis." Mom just smirked, blowing some smoke off her fingers, even as they sparked slightly. "So quit yapping, ya dandy. Let's just fight!"_

 _Yaha just gave a light sigh. "If that is what you want. Who am I to deny you? Come, children! It's time to play!" The goblins lined up in formations, chittering as they marched toward Yesenia, already conjuring up her next spell. She pulled her hands apart in a dramatic stance, lightning dancing between her palms. She thrust her hands out, and a wall of electricity roared outwards, scattering the critters like bowling pins._

 _Once again Urick emerged from the shadows, scythe held high overhead in a perfect position to separate her head from her shoulders. Only for her to conjure up another pair of the spectral blades, trapping the scythe blade before knocking him away with a quick telekinetic burst. Only to whip around to roundhouse kick a couple of the gnomes across the bloody ground. She swept her ethereal weapons in a graceful arc. The first blade snapping the shaft of a gnome's weapon into splinters, the second cleaving his head off._

 _Mom was a spinning whirlwind of death, but the gnomes kept coming, and the occasional sneak attack from Urick wasn't helping much either. Both she and Naaman were starting to get worn down and it was showing, something had to give eventually. Mom had just dispatched a couple more of the irritating little monsters when Urick finally got lucky. He emerged from the shadows, the Reaper rearing up behind, and the scythe came down, raking across my mother's back, blood spraying everywhere._

 _She collapsed to the ground, tears running down her face as she gasped in pain. I didn't want to believe that someone like Yesenia of Underberg could be reduced to such a sorry state, but here it was right in front of me. And then…it appeared, erupting from her right eye. A flower, black as the deepest abyss. The cry that erupted from her lips tore into my very heart and soul. I know Kieran felt it as well._

 _"YESENIA!" Naaman roared, firing off another Blade Beam to give the dragon an opening to rake its massive claws into the demon's chest, while throwing the most powerful flames it could conjure up, leaving the fish creature badly burned. "Get down there now, Legna!" The dragon swooped down toward where Mom was. He was ready to fry Urick, Yaha, and his entire army of wannabe Orcs when the entire battlefield was suddenly enveloped in shadow, darker than anything Urick had done earlier. A giant mass slowly reared up, taking a rough approximation of the human form._

 _It looked so otherworldly, so terrifying. The night sky conveys a sense of wonder and majesty, mostly because of the myriad of stars permeating the black void of space. It makes it look beautiful, if in a slightly eerie manner. There was no beauty to beheld here. It was just a living shadow that looked roughly human, ready to consume everything in its path. And that was before its eyes opened! I call them eyes because they were in the right place, they were the polar opposite of that inky void, a pair of stark white holes with no sense of life behind them. A thin white slit formed, and it opened to let out a shrill, piercing scream, it was just as white and blank as those abominations called eyes._

 _Naaman wasn't sure what to make of it, none of us where. The shadowy hand reached out, grabbing the dragon by the tail, and it began spinning man and beast around, faster and faster before it let go. The dragon slammed into the ground, skidding almost thirty feet before coming to a stop. Naaman was thrown from the beast's back, knocked unconscious from the impact. The dragon stumbled to its feet, roared once and leaped into the sky._

 _It took a few minutes before Naaman regained his senses. He looked around, obviously trying to find his partner. "Legna, you no good snake with wings!" He raged. It was then he caught sight of Mom, now out of it herself, the black flower still in her eye. Naaman began limping toward her, sword dragging along the ground._

 _It was then the four knights appeared, forming a wall between the two of them. Naaman weakly raised his sword, prepared to fight all four of them to get to Mom. "You really want to go? Fine then! I'll take you all on!"_

 _"That won't be necessary, Captain. The general has it under control." Yaha said. Naaman had just opened his mouth as one of the most nightmare-inducing sights began to coalesce before us. A human-sized figure began to emerge from the darkness covering the ground. The shadows roiled about the figure, it almost seemed alive. And like its larger counterpart, it had a pair of lidless, pinprick eyes and A thin slit of a toothless smile, going far beyond a human smile should have been capable of, both that same bare white. It emerged from the shadows, and the darkness was rolling off of him, like a thick, viscous sludge._

 _We wanted to warn him, to do anything, but all we could do was watch in silent horror as Naaman was impaled through the back, his blood joining my mother's on the ground. He wheezed a few seconds before collapsing the ground…dead. The shadow man uttered a heartless, uncaring laugh, the shadows began melting away, rolling off his body, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was alive, when the darkness had receded, all that remained was Georg, looking extremely smug, wearing a sinister leer._

 _"And that is how you take care of annoyances!" The commander of the knights declared, before turning his attention to Mom's body. "Collect the corpse. We'll need it in order to extract the flower. And burn everything. I don't want there to be anything left of this miserable little town!"_

 _This made Owen look concerned. "And what of the people still living, sir? Certainly, you don't intend to put them all to the sword now?"_

 _Georg just rolled his eyes. This was nothing new between them. "Just arrest everyone still breathing. Send to the special camps. It's what happens to the trash who dare defy our High King." It was then a sickening sound could be heard. Everyone wheeled around to where my mother's body still lay, a crimson fluid was dripping from the flower. It ballooned out to be nearly as tall as a full-grown man, and a bloody figure slowly crawled out of it The figure was decidedly feminine and naked as the day she was born._

 _It took us a couple of seconds until we realized just what had crawled out of there, I could only utter that single word, not quite wanting to believe it myself. "Mom?" It was something neither Kieran nor I could ever unsee…our own mother naked and caked in blood. But it wouldn't be the last time I'd see this phenomenon._

 _Georg and the other knights all took a cautious step back. A sinister chuckle escaped her lips. "Hey guys, what do you think? I was really hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this. But what can I say? Karma's a bitch!"_

 _"Owen, do something about this now!" Georg quickly barked to his executive officer. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was actually a little scared. It made me feel good inside._

 _Owen stepped forward, sinking into a battle stance while drawing his twin swords. My first impression is they weren't made of metal, for they didn't catch the light of the sun, instead being a stark bone white. "I'm sorry it came to this Yesenia, but it has to end here." Owen tried to address her in a disarming manner, but all he got for it was a wad of spit to the face and a contemptuous sneer from our mother._

 _"If you were actually sorry about this then you wouldn't have let your precious commander just kill your son!" Mom raged, her face contorting in a mixture of pain and anger, made all the more menacing due to how the blood was still dripping off her body. She paused for a moment, looking at Naaman's prone form. "You clearly don't give a shit about this world the way Naaman did. You're nothing but a witless puppet, could care less about your grandson being fatherless! You always say you follow justice, Owen. Look around you, what justice is this? What justice is this!" She screamed._

 _The knight said nothing, just looking on impassively. "The answer to that is simple, Yesenia. The justice is a king's justice. Our king's justice. The providence of those blessed by the divine. It is not my place to question God's will, Yesenia. But you clearly have gone against both king and God, by letting that demon seed take root in you. The King understands far better than any of us ever could. He created the Order of the Seal for that purpose, and why he gave me these blades." Mom actually looked afraid. She clearly knew he was talking about._

 _"That's right, Yesenia. These blades are one of the few things that truly kill you now. The High King himself gave them to me in order to right the wrongs you spurned on my son. Not to mention the people of this village. You should have surrendered when you had the chance. This all falls on your head, Yesenia, you and your damned hubris. And it will end by my hand." He then lunged at her, blades at the ready, when a swirling portal appeared at her feet. Mom didn't hesitate, leaping into it, vanishing for parts unknown. Owen just missed her, slicing off a few strands of her hair as she fell into oblivion._

 _"NO!" Georg began ranting and carrying on like a teenaged girl. I was half wondering if he would conjure up a bed to throw himself on it in order to complete the image. "Damn it! It's just like Systine! We almost had them this time!"_

 _"Order all troops to begin a search across the empire!" Owen barked. His mind racing as he began determining the next course of action, proving who was the real brains around there. "Between using all those spells, the serious wound the Reaper gave her and calling on the power of the flower in such short order, means she couldn't have gotten far."_

 _Yaha came up. "Is there anything else we need to do around here, Captain?" He asked in that delicate voice._

 _Owen bit his lip for a second, before schooling his face into a neutral expression. "No, round up the survivors and burn the corpses. Don't want them coming back wrong. Nothing worse than a zombie outbreak." Yaha just bowed before walking off. Owen took one final look around the ruins of the smoking battlefield before heading to the main group._

 _It never occurred to me, but that moment saved our lives. Kieran and I had seen enough, retreating back into the caves to return to Mom's lab. Neither of us dared to even utter a sound since the remains of the army were still combing the area and picking up their dead. Our hearts stopped when we heard the front door open, the sound of heavy footsteps overhead. I looked to Kieran, he always knew what to do, but he looked as lost as I felt._

 _Thankfully luck was on our side, the footsteps grew softer and we heard the door open and close. It was another forty minutes before we felt it was safe enough. I went up the ladder and ever so carefully pushed open the trap door, only to find it covered by the rug. "At least we know why they didn't this," I remarked to Kieran, trying to make a dumb joke to ease the tension. "Talk about the pinnacle of laziness." I let out a weak laugh as we crawled up the last rungs of the ladder, spilling onto the floor._

 _We both panted, thankful to be alive. But the two of us realized that we were effectively alone. No one was going to come to rescue us. "So where do we go from here?" I asked Kieran. "Do we head for a neighboring village?"_

 _Kieran just gave a grim nod. "We can't stay here, that's for sure! If I remember right, Whitemarch is about a three-day journey to the west. Between your skill in magic and my steady aim, not to mention our very sturdy sword arms. I'm pretty confident we can deal with any stray beasts between here and there. Although we're going to need food and water to last us that long."_

 _"Maybe even a little bit more, just in case," I added. Packing our meager belongings into knapsacks. We were ready to leave. I put my hand on the doorknob, looking around at the place that had been our home. Now it was just a collection of dust and echoes. Not wanting to let the emotions overwhelm me any further, I turned the knob and we stumbled out into the cold, unforgiving world. "Okay, Kieran. We should probably get moving now. It's already evening. We'll want to put as much distance between us and here as possible before it gets dark." But Kieran wasn't listening to me. He was just facing toward the battlefield. "Kieran?" I asked._

 _"He's still there." Kieran intoned. "Dad's body is still out there, Ezra. I can't just leave it."_

 _I groaned and facepalmed. "K, I know you want to give your dad his due respect. And I don't relish the idea of leaving his body out in the hot sun to become vulture chow. But let me remind you we both heard what those guys would do to us if we were found. What they would do to ME if we were found." I put a special emphasis on that last part as Kieran kept gazing out at the blood-soaked fields._

 _"Not to mention I'm only eight years old, Kieran. I want to do some things first, like kiss girls. I'm really curious about girls for my ages, and I would like to get to explore them a little more intimately one day. That predicates us staying alive."_

"Time out!" Rita said suddenly. "Did you really say that back then, Ezra? Cause it sounds ridiculous if you ask me!"

"It does sound kind of silly," Judith added.

Ezra just smirked. "Come on girls, I think I'm allowed to exaggerate just a little bit. It is my story after all." Estelle and Phoebe both giggled as he resumed.

 _"Go ahead and look around for any extra supplies, Ezra. I just want to say goodbye to him, and then we can leave. Meet back here in ten minutes?" Kieran said. I could only sigh. Once my brother made up his mind, there was no way to talk him out of it. So I went further into the village, hoping to find anything that could help us on our journey._

 _I had to give Mom and Dad credit where it was due, even though they had torn up the grounds outside the village, most of the houses were untouched. I made my way through the village square. My brother and I used to play there with the other kids, now it was as dead as everything else was. I didn't waste time looking in the abandoned food stands. I had found a couple of other knapsacks so I put the smoked meat and fruit I could find._

 _It was then I came upon something unexpected in my salvaging. The body of a Tracker, a monster hunter who specializes in going after the most dangerous of creatures. Known for their incredible skill in alchemy, and the twin swords they carry on their back, one steel, one silver. I don't know why he was present in our village, but it seemed he had tried to stand up to Georg's forces and paid the price for it. The silver sword was broken, leaving only the handle and the bottom third, the steel blade laying in the dirt not too far away._

 _I had always heard of Trackers from Naaman, they were some of the finest warriors in the world but seeing this corpse before me was just another reminder that they were still mortal and could die as easily as anyone else. Still, he wasn't going to be needing his swords. For some reason, I just felt drawn to it. I picked up the steel sword, retrieving its sheath and affixing it to my own back. The blade was nearly tall as I was, but it felt right. I looked at the broken stump of the silver sword, catching my reflection in the surface_

 _I was so caught up in admiring myself, I didn't notice when a large, meaty hand grabbed me by the shoulder. "Hey!" I cried out as I was whirled around, coming face to face with one of the knights from earlier. Clearly, the man didn't know what a bath was, because he was pungent._

 _"What do we have here? A looter?" He let out a mirthless chortle, hoisting me up so I was looking right in his eyes, and also the lovely aroma of his stinking breath! "I don't believe those swords belong to you, just as whatever else you've got in those bags. It's always cute when criminals start out young. Makes it easy to deal with them. After all, kids don't leave much of a mess."_

 _If I had been just another normal child. I would have probably frozen up and met a very gruesome fate. But…I wasn't a normal child. Naaman had taught both Kieran and me how to fight and protect ourselves. Granted I was scared out of my mind. Thinking quickly, I stomped him on the foot, leaping in between his legs. I took the broken sword, slashing at the back of his knees, areas unprotected by armor._

 _The would-be knight gasped out in pain as he collapsed to the ground. I pounced on him, stabbing the broken, jagged tip into his neck multiple times, he tried to call out for help, but all that came out was a haunting gargle as he choked on his own blood. His head lolled to the side, as he expired. Once the adrenaline had died down, I stared into his blank, lifeless face. And then it hit me just what I had done. I promptly unloaded my entire stomach onto the ground._

 _Now you'd think that would be the worst of it, but unfortunately, luck was not on my side. The soldier's buddies had heard it and had just come around the corner as I finished the job. "That little brat just killed Shingo!" one knight said, venom coming into his voice. "That vicious little shit must be the witch's child! Only the spawn of a monster bitch like her could kill like that!"_

 _"Oh, crapbaskets!" I whined, dropping everything and taking off to the other side of the village. I was being pursued by about nine of them. I tried to make use of the layout of the village, taking shortcuts, going places where a small kid could fit with little trouble. I barely avoided one of them grabbing my foot when I slipped through a small hole in the wall and I was outside the village._

 _I ran about forty yards, before I tripped, the hilt of the steel sword on my back smacking me in the back of the head. "Ow." I was soon surrounded. "Help." Was all I could manage, barely a whimper. Remember what I said earlier about luck? Well, it swung around real quick._

 _A massive roar shook the very earth itself. The ground quaked beneath us. A huge of gust of wind blew up a thick, choking cloud of dust. I bolted behind a rock. All I could hear was a lot of screaming and bones cracking. I could see flames being thrown around, and felt the heat from those flames. In all, it was a sea of death. I heard a grunt, and ever so carefully peeked out from behind the rock to see my would-be savior._

 _It was a dragon, but not the one Naaman was fighting on earlier. This dragon was its polar opposite. Its scales were a brilliant silver-white, with the slightest sheen of light blue. It was beautiful yet also just a little intimidating. My legs were still shaky, as I tripped over my own two feet, catching the dragon's attention, staring me right in the eye._

 _I wasn't going to let myself die crying like a baby. I willed myself to my feet, grabbing the sword on my back. I went down into a stance. "Let me make something clear! I don't care if you are a dragon or not. I will survive this! My mother is out there waiting for me. So if you want to throw down, then let's do this right here and now!" I thought what I said sounded pretty badass, it probably would have been more effective if my face wasn't slimy from the tears and snot dribbling all over my face._

 _The only response I got was a low, growling in the back of my mind. It didn't sound scary if anything it was one of amusement. "Brave words, little one. Especially since you look like you could really stand to wash your face!" The dragon flared its wings. "I am the White Dragon Michael, and it seems I came at just the right moment. I felt something pull me here, perhaps you can explain to me just what that was?"_

 _I'm lucky my jaw is secured so well to my head, because I'm pretty sure it would have dropped off my skull entirely. "You can talk? I've seen a lot of crap today, but this is by far the single coolest thing I've ever seen!" It really was the coolest thing I had ever seen. A nice change of pace from the all the blood and death I endured thus far. The dragon let out a snort._

 _"Take a breath, hatchling. Can you tell me what happened here?" He took a scouring look around the battered landscape. "Because it seems I missed quite a party, as you humans put it."_

 _"So, you're really not going to eat me?" I asked, still nervous about becoming this thing's lunch._

 _"No, I don't eat humans. I find them too stringy for my tastes." Michael responded, starting to get annoyed._

 _An awkward pause hung in the air. "Are you really sure about this?" I couldn't help but be skeptical. Michael roared, slamming his tail on the ground._

 _"No, I swear on my honor as a dragon I will not eat you. Will you please answer my questions before I lose my patience!" I could feel the heat on his breath. Despite my initial step back, I stepped forward, nor breaking eye contact with him for a minute._

 _"Well, excuse me for being skeptical, your draconic holiness! You'll have to forgive me, but I've had a really bad day! My village was destroyed by a bunch of religious zealots, my stepfather is dead, my mother is missing, my stepbrother is in danger, and I just killed a guy!" I threw my arms out, waving them all over the place. "I'm pretty sure all my friends are dead, and all because some dumb plant burst out of my mom's face and spit her out covered in blood!"_

 _"I'm a confused, scared, and pissed off kid who needs some fucking guidance. So thank you so much for pelting with useless questions in my hour of need you scaly, blue nugget of a fuck!" I hadn't realized I was crying as I did this. But I guess I couldn't keep the stress down forever as I ranted. The mucus was dripping from my nose like a slimy, thick waterfall._

 _Michael had a look of consideration in his beastly eyes. Sympathy flashed in them. The dragon just let out a low rumbling sound. "Come on, hatchling. Clean your face off, and climb on my back." That stopped the bawling real fast as he spread his majestic looking wings out "Be lucky I'm in a giving mood. We should get as far away from here as possible. But not before giving the ones who attacked your home a proper goodbye."_

 _Cleaning off my face and sniffling. I ran over to him, climbing back just behind his neck. Wordlessly, he flapped his wings once, and I was actually flying! We were soaring hundreds of feet in the air, I could see the village, I could see the plains surrounding them and reaching all the way to the horizon. Michael swooped down low, I saw the order soldiers, like ants waiting to be squashed. "Wait, Michael. Do you see my brother anywhere?"_

 _"I do not see any human hatchlings being held captive." The dragon's voice roared in my head. "May I dispose of them?"_

 _If anyone saw the evil leer on my face, they would be afraid. "Light them up!" I said. Mentally cheering as Michael spat several balls of fire at the ground, erupting into a veritable sea of flames as the entire goon squad burned into ash._

 _I expected to be happy to see my hometown avenged, but the satisfaction was outweighed by a growing sense of fatigue. "So where do we go from here, Michael?" I asked, leaning down, feeling my eyes getting heavy. I had no idea how tired I was._

 _His deep voice rumbled in my mind as my consciousness began to fade into sleep. "Away from here, hatchling. After that, I cannot say."_

The atmosphere around the dinner table was a subdued one. Ezra idly rapped his knuckles on the table. "And so thus began the crazy ride that is my life. It's something when I tell you that this is only the start of all the madness. If anyone has any questions. I'm willing to field them now. I'm certain you're the most curious of all, Rita. Since you wanted to know about our origins."

"Indeed, I do." The fire mage responded. "You can start with this flower. It really burst out of your mom's eye, and then it spit her out like a newborn? Did that really happen or is this just more exaggeration?"

Ezra shook his head firmly. "In this situation, there is no exaggeration or embellishment at all. It really happened." He got out of his seat, beginning to walk around the room. "The bare truth is that damned flower was the direct source of all the misery in my life. My own personal nemesis that never let me get a proper night's sleep."

"So where did it come from?" Judith asked.

He stood at the front of the room, looking at the map on the wall. "It will make a lot more sense if I bring it a little closer to home for you guys." He turned to face their pink haired healer. "Estelle, you and Rita will especially know exactly what I'm talking about." His gaze swept across the rest of his companions. "You guys all know the Adephagos."

Estelle gasped at this. Rita grunted. "Uh, duh! We all saw it when that nut job, Alexei broke down the barrier between worlds at Zaude. That abomination is sucking up all the Aer in the world and it won't be long before we're out of luck when it comes to magic!"

Ezra smirked. "Well, your world wasn't the only one to suffer a cataclysm. It was about a hundred and fifty years before I was even born. According to the records, a massive earthquake ripped across the land, and a huge city just appeared overnight, disgorging with it a plethora of monsters worldwide."

"Not to mention, elves, dwarves, and the other non-human races," Felecia added.

"So that's what happened to all of them," Judith spoke up. "A thousand years ago, Elves, Dwarves, and a bunch of other races just vanished from the Terca Lumiereis overnight. The only tribe that remained was ours, the Krityans." Everyone looked at Judith like she had grown a second head. "What? I'll admit I may not be a colossal nerd like some of my other people, but even I know our history. Quite the coincidence if you ask me."

"There's no such thing as coincidence in my eyes." Rita snapped. "These two events are connected, aren't they, Ezra? I'm willing to bet the Flower is as well."

"The only thing sharper than your wit is your mind, Fire Girl," Ezra stated, even if Rita could be hot tempered at times, she was smart. And he could respect someone with a sharp mind. "The Flower is a living entity unto itself. It hails from a realm beyond either this one or Midgard. It's there entities known as the Watchers reside. If I could describe them, just picture giant living baby statues. They live only for one thing, the total destruction of all reality. It wouldn't surprise me at all if what's happening here is just the beginning of the same thing that nearly happened in my world."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Judith asked.

With that Ezra began speaking, his voice was near monotone, and unsettling. "Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf's blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deireádh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but burst into flame. Ess'tuath esse! Thus, it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves…"

"Well, that certainly doesn't sound foreboding at all," Yuri said, blandly. Despite his sarcastic tone, they could see the completely serious expression on his slightly feminine features.

"What you have just heard is the prophecy of Ithlinne, a great Elven oracle from Midgard," Ezra said. "It foretells the coming of Tedd Deireadh, the Time of End, in other words, the end of the world. The Knights of the Seal had a connection to these beings, worshipped them as gods."

"Then it's a really old prophecy then," Judith said, a hint of fear in her voice. "I've heard similar prophecies made. Maybe there is a connection to these Watchers and that thing sucking the Aer out of our world."

"Oh, I know there's a connection," Ezra stated. "That distortion in the sky isn't just corroding your world. The Watchers are attacking on multiple fronts, corroding all worlds. Making them vulnerable so they can overrun them, destroying every world where there is life."

"So where does the Flower begin making your life difficult, Ezra?" Estelle asked. She had only heard bits and pieces of his past. It was time to get the full story from the source itself.

Ezra took a moment, closing his eyes for a moment. Calming himself before he answered. It truly was an emotional ordeal for Ezra. "Really, it started with my Mom, but it didn't happen right away, Estelle. It was a slow burn, but when it ignited, all that remained was ash. But before we get to that part, I need to tell you of how I met my co-star, no story is complete without the beautiful love interest after all."

"You're talking about Zero," Raven said, taking a large drink, intentionally slurping to annoy Rita.

"Yes, but she wasn't known as Zero when I first met her old man. I knew her by another name. It was quite appropriate actually. Despite her beauty, she had some very nasty thorns on her." Ezra looked wistful. "My beautiful flower…my precious Rose."

"She really was important to you, wasn't she?" Yuri said. "I'm guessing the Flower took her away from you?"

"You could say that." Ezra's voice darkened. "Although it really wasn't so much a flower as it was an otherworldly parasite pretending to be a flower, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. It sounds ridiculous and silly, but it really was love at first sight. She was the center of my whole world, and I would have done anything to protect her. Even after she became a monster in human form."

"That sounds like Nan and me." Karol piped up. "I couldn't imagine anything happening to her." This just earned a derisive snort from Rita.

"You and Nan are still little kids." Rita frowned, "what would you possibly know about love?"

"Oh that's real funny coming from the person who loves inanimate objects, oh wait, and Estelle too!" Karol shot back. "You want to talk about a love that was quashed before it even bloomed."

Ezra cleared his throat, interrupting the two before Rita got violent. "Let's try keeping on track here. With my village a barren wreck and my family shattered. I had no one else to rely on but Michael. He was an unconventional guardian, to say the least, but what I learned from him kept me alive up to this point. So I suppose the next chapter starts there."


	2. Bright River Retreat

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A Story of Eighteen Years

by Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Chapter 1: Bright River Retreat

The entire crew had taken a short break from Ezra's story to partake in Phoebe's wonderful cooking. After the tale of Naaman and Yesenia's intense battle against the Order, and Ezra's subsequent escape on Michael. Everyone was quite hungry. Estelle would occasionally glance over to where Ezra was sitting, idly sipping at the stew. He was stoic as he ate, clearly having to recount the events of that day had been one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. He let out a relieved sigh, giving his stomach a light slap. "Oh, that was good, Phoebe. I could die tomorrow and be a happy man with cooking likes yours."

The blue-haired mage just smiled and blushed as she hunched down shyly. Rita just rolled her eyes as she adjusted her goggles. "Ugh, can we please not get lovey-dovey here? I might puke. So what happened after you flew off on Michael? Did he take you off to his mountain and keep you as his pet?"

He just rolled his eyes. "Don't get your goggles on so tight, Ri. Everything will come out in due time. And no, Michael didn't take me to some distant mountain where I lived for years." Ezra leaned back in his chair, ready to resume the tale. "Actually, I think Judith would find this next chapter quite interesting because it covers the time I spent with her people." The scantily clad elf's ears twitched at this. He just smirked, satisfied he had everyone's full attention. "Oh yes, it was in that village where I met my first real companions, and my journey really began."

 _The sound of the wind rushing by my head woke me up. I was surprised to find it was nightfall, I looked down and didn't recognize the landscape underneath us, so clearly, it had been a while. I was still trying to get my bearings when Michael spoke to me. "So you're awake. That's good, we're getting close to our destination, anyway."_

 _"How long have we been flying?" I asked, rubbing my face and trying to clear my head of all the fatigue. I looked down again and was able to see trees…lots of trees. So clearly we over some massive forest. Michael was skimming just above the very tips of the trees. Those massive taloned feet barely missing the very top branches._

 _"I'm not sure myself, but if I had to make a guess I'd say it's been over eight human hours. We're nearly on the other side of the continent from where I found you." Michael said. He circled and began descending to the ground, "Hang on, hatchling. We're setting down. I know the people of this village well. They should be able to help you out."_

 _I grunted, hanging onto his back as best as I could, praying I didn't hit a branch on the way down. He spread his wings with a flourish before landing with a delicate touch. I suppose a dragon would be able to make those pinpoint landings. I poked out over his head to see where we were. Michael had landed square in the middle of a small village, tucked away in a forest clearing. I could see several small houses nestled away against the enormous tree trunks._

 _It was then I saw the villagers emerging from the houses, all looking a little nervous as they did so. They slowly emerged from their homes speaking a language that sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. When a few of them became bolder and approached Michael, I caught sight of their ears and I knew what language these people were speaking, and what they were. They were elves. Mom had taught Kieran and I some of the elven language, so I caught snippets of the various conversations._

 _But then one male elf, clad in chainmail and a dark green leather gherkin, a red bandana tied around his head, covering his dark brown hair, carrying a large bow stomped up to Michael. He caught sight of me on his back. There was a cold fury in his green eyes that unsettled me quite a bit. It was a look of pure revulsion. The elf began barking at Michael in the elder tongue. "What in the name of Tir Na La are you thinking, Michael? You brought an outsider, a human on top of it, to this place? I may have respect for your strength as a dragon, but don't think you can just bring random strangers here!"_

 _My draconic companion looked nonplussed. I suppose if you have the power to torch an entire army. The words of a lone elf don't mean much. He just snorted, a small puff of smoke escaping his nostrils. "Oh come off it Ioran. I found the hatchling alone in the ruins of his village, destroyed by the Order. I couldn't leave him there. Besides, there's already a human living in your village anyway. One is as good as the other in my opinion."_

 _The elf named Ioran just glared at him even more. I was certainly piqued by the idea of there being another human present. "Kyana is an exception, and we both know it!" He snapped. "Take that little brat and dump him off somewhere, just not here!" It was then I made my presence felt, sticking my head up from between Michael's horns. Ioran looked dubious, our stare down lasted a few minutes before he spoke to me in the common tongue. "Why should I even consider giving you shelter in my village, child?"_

 _I just glared right back at him when I spoke in the elven tongue. "Maybe I should be asking you why I picked this place. I have a giant, fire-breathing dragon as a friend. It's not like I'm short on options of where to go." I"d like to think I surprised him when I spoke in his own language, how many eight years can give an elf cheek in their own tongue? But as I'd come to learn, Ioran was good at keeping a straight face. His eyebrows knit together slightly, his expression softened a little, but it was still mostly neutral._

 _He folded his arms. "So you've a sense of humor, cute. You may as well give me your name, child. And you can tell me where you learned to speak our language."_

 _"My name is Ezra, and I hail from the village of Minas Tor." I tried to keep my voice from cracking at the last part, I couldn't afford to show weakness. I inched forward and sat up a little taller. "As for how I know your tongue. My mother taught some of it to me. She's got some elf blood in her. I think that makes us related, at least in some roundabout, distant manner."_

 _Ioran just scoffed. "Blood doesn't mean a thing to me." He took note of blades on my back. "I am curious about those swords you're wielding, and if you can ever use them at all." The chill from his eyes took a lot of the bravado out of me. I seriously considered just telling Michael to beat wings and get out of here. But I decided against it. I had come too far and I wasn't going to let Mr. Edgy Elf get the best of me, so I doubled down. "I stripped them off the body of a dead tracker in my village, and I killed an Imperial soldier with it. I brandished the broken silver blade, the blood still fresh on the edge._

 _Not going to lie, I was pretty queasy at that exact moment, but I continued to talk tough. "Doubt this evidence if you can, Master Elf, but you don't strike me as being so foolish as when something is right in front of you!" Ioran still kept a neutral face, but it was clear he was considering my words. Several of the other villagers were standing at the edge of the clearing. Gawking at the sight of the massive dragon and whispering amongst themselves._

 _"Papa!" A delicate, feminine voice called out. A little girl with short-cut orange-red hair broke out of the crowd and ran up to where we were standing. She had on a short-sleeved tunic in a deep forest green with brown shorts and dark green sandals on her feet. The distinct lack of points on her ears indicated she was clearly human. "Papa, what's going on? Why is there a dragon here?" It was then she looked up and saw me, her eyes a lovely shade of green. "Were you riding him?" It didn't seem to register to the girl I was still holding the bloody sword in hand._

 _I awkwardly slid the sword back into the scabbard and tried to be as nice as possible. "Uh, yeah. W-what's your name?" The girl was actually kind of cute in my opinion._

 _She pouted at me. It was rather adorable in a way. "You should introduce yourself first! It's only polite to a lady!"_

 _"Uh, my name is Ezra. And the dragon is Michael."_

 _Her smile was a welcome balm after the last few days. "That's much better! My name is Kyana! It's nice to meet you as well, Ezra." She looked at Ioran. "Is he going to stay here, Papa?"_

 _He seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, but thanks to the combination of imploring eyes and adorable pout he relented, the way his shoulders slumped was proof. I should know this very well since my brother and I had used it on Mom and Naaman more times than we could count. Ioran sighed, looking up at me. "Come on down, young one. I imagine you're tired and hungry after your trip." Michael lowered his head and I clambered down. It was then all the fatigue caught up to me. Thankfully Kyana took hold of my hand, it was so warm and inviting._

 _They took me over to one of the cottages. I stepped inside. It was a modest affair, the only furniture being a bed, a desk, and a chest of drawers. Still, it had a pleasant, homey feeling. "This will be your home for the time being. It's intended for visitors who are guests of the village chieftain." Ioran said._

 _"Who's the chieftain?" I asked, to which Kyana just giggled in a cute way._

 _"You're looking at him, silly! My papa is the village elder!" She chirped._

 _I looked up at Ioran, and he just glared at in me in a 'yeah, so what?' kind of way. "Yeah, I'm chieftain of Calima Nen Village. What, you were expecting something else?" He finally spoke._

 _"You're really the guy in charge around here? I figured he'd be like one of those old wiseman, sage types. Not to mention taller, and less angry, but that's just me." I quipped. Kyana giggled at this, and Ioran just rolled his eyes, muttering about 'damn human brat' under his breath._

 _"So in other words, you're not talking about Ioran, Kid?" A cranky sounding feminine voice snapped behind me. I turned to see a young woman leaning in the doorway. She had long, flame-red hair in thick wavy curls that draped elegantly down past her shoulders, contrasting with her brilliant green eyes. I noticed that like Kyana, she didn't have pointed ears, which said to me she was human. The woman came in, getting right in my face ."I mean that's what everyone else thinks. He's kind of the leader by default."_

 _"Stop being mean to Papa, Devola!" Kyana chided to the older woman. "Papa is the tallest and the wisest. Everyone says he's old so that means he's the best!"_

 _"She's got you there, Sis." Another woman spoke. She was a dead ringer for the first woman, although her hair was totally straight, running almost down to her rear end, and wood-framed bifocal glasses adorned her face. "What is this all about, Ioran?" The first red-haired woman, Devola, just rolled her eyes in irritation._

 _"Isn't it obvious, Popola? He needs us here for the runt covered in blood and bruises. You can be so clueless at times." The bespectacled girl, Popola frowned, throwing a glare to her twin sister, but Devola just shook it off. "So where did you get this one, Ioran? Let me guess, some poor farmer left this one to starve because they couldn't feed him." She let out a overdramatic sigh. "Kinda sad really, People just pop out kids and throw them in the woods to be eaten by whatever beasts are there. So is that your story kid, did Mommy and Daddy abandon you because they couldn't afford it?"_

 _That struck a nerve with me. All at once I remembered what happened back in Minas Tor. How the Order slaughtered everyone, beat down on Mom and Naaman. It was so vivid, and I felt sick all over again. "You shut your fucking mouth!" I snarled at her, not realizing I had drawn the broken sword once again. "My mom and dad died to protect me, and I won't let anyone desecrate their sacrifice! So you better take that back right now you bitch!" I was a second away from attacking her, only for a delicate hand to take mine. It was Popola, she had knelt down and looked at me with sad eyes._

 _"It's okay." She whispered, wrapping her arms around me and into a tight hug. It was exactly the same way Mom would hug me whenever something upset me. Popola gently rubbed my back. The blade slipped out of my hand and clattered on the floor._

 _"Popola and Devola are Kyana's tutors, and starting today they're going to be yours as well, Kid," Ioran said. "Welcome to Calima Nen Village." He actually smiled as he said that, gently running his hand through my hair. It was there the two of us would actually start connecting with each other, like a loving uncle. "I'll leave you to Devola and Popola for right now, and I'll take care of this." My heart stopped as he took the sword from me. "It probably could stand to be maintained." I reached for it, but he gently tapped me on the forehead. "Ah-ah, don't worry. You'll get them back in the morning. If you behave, I'll teach you a few things."_

 _He left after that. The woman with the straight red hair put a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "How about we do something about treating your injuries, dear?" She led me over to the bed, having me sit down. Her curly-haired twin sat across the way at a small table and chairs, wearing a guilty look on her face. A part of me still felt rather uneasy at this turn of events. I flinched when Popola brought her hand near me. "What's wrong?" she asked._

 _"I want to talk to Michael," I said. the whole thing was becoming so overwhelming for me. I didn't know what to do. Popola just smiled, bringing her hand to my cheek._

 _"Hey, focus now, okay?" She said, her voice so comforting. "You know you're quite lucky to have met Michael. He must have seen something very special in you if he went out of his way to come to your rescue." My panic began to abate at her words. Confident she had my attention. Popola kept speaking. "Consider this your first lesson. It all happened almost a hundred and thirty years ago. When a great cataclysm ripped across our world. The mighty Cathedral City appeared on the great peninsula to the west of here."_

 _"And the world exploded with magic and monsters." I finished. Popola's eyebrows shot upward as I finished the sentence. "My mother was a powerful mage herself. She told me this same story. Although the details are still rather sketchy."_

 _"Then you know that once the Cataclysm happened, society broke down, and everyone was set against each other. Man vs Man, Man vs Elf, and Man vs Dragon." Popola looked rather sad at that last part. "The relationship between Humanity and Dragon is even more strained than humans and elves. Michael clearly has a big heart to come to your aid." Her hand came up, and I felt a warmth begin radiating outward. It was soothing, before long it occurred to me it wasn't just the warmth of her hand._

 _I saw a faint red glow come off the entire length of her hand, it felt like my wounds and bruises were literally melting away. "H-how did you do that?" I asked. "I mean, my mom has used healing magic before, but it had a green glow. This feels different."_

 _"That's because it's fire-based," Popola explained. "It's a very…rare form of magic. Not many people know how to do it. My sister can as well." She looked over to Devola, still wearing the sad pout from earlier._

 _"Forget it. She can sit there and be guilty for all I care." I stuck my tongue out at her, and she fired right back. Popola just laughed._

 _"I don't think I've ever seen a child with your level of snark. I wonder where you learned to talk like that." She lightly chided him. "Most kids would be cowed if an adult threatened to take a switch or a paddle to them." I think I scared her a little bit with how I glared at her, but I figured she deserved the truth._

 _"After today, I don't have much reason to be afraid of adults. They think they can walk all over people. I'm done with that!" Popola gently swatted me on the back. I lowered my head, reluctant for what I was about to do next. "Uh, you'll forgive me if I make a strange request? I don't want to be alone tonight. Is it possible you could stay here for me?" She just put a hand on my shoulder, and I knew what her response would be._

 _It was a good thing because I woke up screaming about four hours later. The dream was certainly entertaining enough. I had visions of the entire village burning, the flower erupting from my mom's eye, capped off by being eaten by a giant red dragon. My entire body was covered in sweat and I wanted to run, but a pair of pale, delicate arms held me in place. I thought it Popola, but then I noticed how her wavy hair…it was Devola. She had on a red tank top and brown shorts, looking at me with those green eyes, that just seemed to emanate a strange, ethereal quality._

 _She brought a slender finger to her lips. "Shh, it's okay, kid. Nothing's going to happen to you." She leaned forward to give me a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Just don't expect me to be so nice all the time. That's what my sister is for." Popola just smiled, she had just had on a simple white button-up tunic._

 _"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I shot back, as the twins embraced me on either side. My heart slowed down, and I felt myself calm down enough to get back to sleep._

 _"I think we may just get along after all," Devola said, her gentle smile is the last thing I saw as blessed slumber overtook me. I slept like a baby the rest of the night…_

"At least you found a safe haven after such a traumatic event," Estelle said. She had been greatly relieved to hear about Ezra's arrival amongst the elves. Her heart had shattered after the first part of the story and wasn't sure if she was ready to hear more if this was just the start. She wondered if they were pushing him too much by reliving all of this trauma.

"I liked Devola and Popola, red-haired twins are always fun. I wouldn't mind getting tutored by them!" Raven leered, while Rita glared at him.

"I'm not sure I like that Devola girl for mocking you that way, Ezra. I can't believe she would say such a thing to a battered and traumatized child." Estelle was a calm person most of the time, with a gentle heart and loving soul. However, it made her angry at how callous Devola had been. Enough she was sorely tempted to ask Furiae to borrow her mace so she could bring it down square on her head!

Ezra carried a slightly melancholy expression. "Devola didn't exactly earn me any points with that first meeting. Popola was nice enough, she was the one in charge of our education, general and magic wise. Her sister was just there as her assistant and bitched the entire time." He shook his head. "That being said, they both became older sister figures to Kyana and I. But there was something about both of them that seemed off. I don't know what it was, but there was an energy about them that just felt…unnatural to me. And it wasn't just because they were humans living in an elven village."

"So once you ended up in the village, what did you do?" Judith asked.

"I started training alongside Kyana, as well as her cousins." He looked over to Felecia as he said this, her greenish-blue eyes getting a little misty. "Those were simpler times, and it seemed like what had happened earlier was just a bad dream."

 _(Two Years Later)_

 _My eyes narrowed as I swung my steel blade at the massive sabercat, snapping its enormous fangs at me. It tried to swing around to bite me in the knee, but a swift kick to the side of the head, and a wide slash caused it to go on the defensive. But the mighty animal wouldn't be so easily dissuaded, prowling low as it waited for its next chance to strike. I was also focused intently on the cat, golden slitted eyes unblinking._

 _"Keep your focus, Ezra!" Popola called out from a short distance away. "You lose your attention on that thing for a minute and you're dead." The twins had taken Kyana and I out into the woods surrounding the village to cull some of the local wildlife._

 _Speaking of which, Kyana was currently squaring off with her own sabercat, her weapons of choice, a Tomahawk in one hand and a knife in the other. It was clear how good of fighter she really was, moving with fluid grace, every move segueing into the next, no motion wasted. The cat snarled at her, swiping with its claws, but she easily flipped over the beast, landing perfectly._

 _I had to admit it was always impressive to watch Kyana fight, she gracefully flowed in and out amongst the cat, avoiding its fangs and claws. I was quite captivated by it, only I was reminded of my own challenge, raising my sword to avoid getting mauled, dodging to the left to avoid getting my side ripped out. I let the cat get far enough by me, sword raised. The timing right, the shining steel blade came down, cleaving the saber cat's head clean off its shoulders._

 _"Nice kill!" Devola said, while Popola just gave a slight nod of acknowledgment._

 _"Now go and help Kyana." The straight-haired twin said. I just nodded and ran off to help Kyana against the other saber cat. She flashed a smile at me as I came up alongside her. I raised my sword in a ready position, while she brandished her axe and knife. Even cornered, the beast was defiant, letting out one last snarl._

 _We just looked to each other and smirked. This would be no contest. If we weren't training against the local wildlife, Kyana and I would spar against each other. So we knew each other's moves very well. I let Kyana take the lead. She wore her usual green sleeveless turtleneck sweater and brown shorts. She nearly spun around the beast, the knife in her off-hand, slashing across the cat's flank._

 _I managed to get the beast across the face, taking out its left eye, causing it to cry out in pain. I swept my blade around, managing to cut through both of the creature's right side legs, sending it tumbling to the ground, immobilized._

 _"Kyana, here's your opening!" I called out to her, letting out a cry she leapt off a rock. The hatchet came down, burying itself in the hapless beast's skull, as the knife punctured the cat's throat, just to ensure it couldn't get off any final strikes._

 _It had been two years since Michael had brought me to the elven village of Calima Nen, or Bright River in the common tongue. I was now ten years old. In that time I had become accepted by the elves. I had learned their language, their customs. In a lot of ways, I had come to see myself as being more elvish than human. They had lived in such harmony with nature, a far cry from how those jackholes in the Order and Empire seemed to just consume everything in their path._

 _I learned much about Ioran in those two years. Apparently, he was something of a revolutionary, and beyond a few he implicitly trusted, had a pathological hatred of humanity. After a while, you just learned to tune it out. That being said, the man knew his way around a sword and helped me to get a better grasp of how to wield it. Although I knew I was nowhere near ready to take on the Order, my day would come, soon enough._

 _I looked to where our two other companions were dealing with some of the other monsters in the forest. The first was a boy of twelve, his messy brown hair, with blonde highlights, was fending off a pack of wolves while wielding a one-handed longsword, much like my own, a plain wooden shield clenched in the other. His eyes held an intense glare as he plunged the weapon into the stricken beast lying at his feet._

 _"Nicely done, Erik. I see Mark has taught you well. You've only gotten better since the last time you were here." Popola called out to the youth, who looked to her with a nod of acknowledgment. "Your sister isn't anything to sneeze at either." My gaze fell on a young woman with blonde hair, wielding a short sword with an edge like a comb's teeth. She gracefully backflipped in the air over the two wolves she had been fighting, bringing her sword in a wide swing, decapitating one of the beasts, and then lashing out with a back kick, impaling the second wolf through the roof of his mouth._

 _"That was beautifully executed, Felecia. You always did have a style I appreciated." Devola clapped in merriment. The younger girl smiled. I couldn't help but feel a little tingly when she did that. Although it was always when Kyana wasn't looking._

 _Erik and Felecia were Ioran's nephew and niece through his younger sister, Quora. Their relationship was…complicated, to say the least. Felecia was the spitting image of her mother, albeit her hair was much shorter, and her skin a couple shades darker. Both she and her older brother inherited Quora's brilliant greenish-blue eyes that had a strange luminous quality to them._

 _Their father, Mark, was a high-ranking officer in the Midgardian Imperial Army. He was one of those few humans Ioran trusted, and would never say no to a visit from his little sister's kids. As such, they would often join Kyana and I in our tutoring sessions under Devola and Popola's watchful eyes. We were all feeling pretty good about ourselves when a massive roar shook the entire clearing, and a giant cave bear lumbered in, rearing up on his hind legs, baring its teeth._

 _"All right! This will be a nice way to wrap up this session!" Erik smirked, shouldering his blade. It would take all four of us working together to subdue something this size. Devola and Popola were nearby, ready to step in if it was required, but we were all confident in our skill. As the eldest, Erik took charge and began shouting out orders. "Kyana, you and I will try and keep the bear's attention, Ezra, Felecia, flank it from both sides and we'll surround it."_

 _No further words were needed, both Felecia and I tensed. Kyana was the first to provoke the bear. "Hey, you oversized plushie! I'm right here!" She called out, slapping her rear end, "You want a piece of this? Come and get it!" Sticking her tongue out as well. Devola thought it was funny, but Popola just sighed, shaking her head._

 _The taunt worked, the bear roared again, swinging a massive paw, those black claws able to rend her in little pieces in short order. But Eric was quick to defend his cousin, bringing his shield up to protect both of them, the rough wooden surface scratched up._

 _Erik was undeterred, ramming the side and front of his shield into the bear's face a few times, letting Kyana slide in underneath, stabbing in with her knife in the right foreleg._

 _This was our chance to move. Felecia went to the right, I ran to the left, getting in behind the beast. She used the jagged edge of her blade, the Sword Breaker, raking across the cave bear's meaty hindquarters. The big lug was faster than we thought, considering how quick he whipped around, looking to carve Felecia up._

 _I was just as fast, I went in for a diagonal slash downwards, just barely missing it, but enough to keep him at bay. "Hey! Remember us!" Erik called out, smacking his sword on his shield as a way to get the bear's attention back on him and Kyana._

 _The two of them leapt back after another powerful swipe, Axe and sword coming up at the same time. The former slashing the bear across its furry chest, and the latter gouging out its right eye. A throaty roar of pain rang out_

 _"Now you guys!" Erik called out. All four of us move in at once, Swords and axe slashing across the bear's legs, sending it tumbling to the ground, unable to fight or run. Apart of me felt a little guilty at having to bring down such a majestic creature, but this was nearly eight hundred pounds of meat that would be able to feed us for quite some time._

 _Erik was stoic, plunging his blade into the bear's skull, piercing the brain, and rendering it silent. We all let out the collective breath we were holding._

 _"Good job." Popola walked up. "That was some very nice teamwork from all four of you. Let's get this beast skinned and head back to the village. I know your parents will be pleased with the results of this little hunt."_

 _When it was all said and done, we had killed three saber cats, eight wolves, and the cave bear was the crown jewel of our collection. The hides could be tanned into leather to use for clothes and other things around the village. The meat would be smoked and turned into jerky for future consumption. Popola could make some mean bear stew._

 _We returned to the village in high spirits. Ioran, Mark, and Quora were currently sitting in the village square near the main fire pit. To my surprise, Michael was also present. It was kind of surreal to see a giant dragon just chilling in the middle of a town and it not being on fire. "We're back, Dad, and we brought some good eats!" Eric called out, indicating the bear carcass._

 _"It's probably a good thing if we have to feed Michael as well," I muttered under my breath. I remembered having seen him eat entire deer, usually in just a couple of bites._

 _Quora got up to greet her children. She moved with that fluid grace all full-blooded elven women seemed to possess. Felecia could do it too, but not in the same her mother did. She threw her arms around Eric, giving him a big old kiss. "Oh, I'm so glad you're back, dear." She said. "I know you had Devola and Popola looking after you, but I still worry!"_

 _"Mom!" Erik protested, rolling his eyes in irritation. This just elicited giggles from the girls. Of course, Quora was quick to give her daughter and niece their own big smooches as well, but they took it much better than Eric did._

 _"We hope you guys like bear." Devola cracked, indicating the skinned carcass she and Popola had been hauling on a crude sledge we had thrown together out of logs. "We certainly brought enough for everyone. I know you'll eat your fill, huh, big guy?" She smirked at Michael._

 _"It's been a while since I've had a proper meal." The giant dragon snorted, flaring his wings for a second, causing a huge gust of wind as he did so, making all the girls' hair whip about. "I'll even be nice enough to cook it for all of you. How you do want it done?"_

 _"Just try not to burn it a cinder like you did that one time, Mike. All I could taste was carbon." Mark said. I always respected Eric and Felecia's father. He was proof that not everyone in the Empire was a total and utter douchebag. He never let his soldiers engage in any of the usual looting and pillaging that plagued so many of the other legions. He was a fair and just man who tried to do what was right._

 _The dragon let out an indignant noise. "I wasn't feeling well that day and you know it! It's not my fault I sneezed at the last minute and roasted the deer you and Ioran hunted!" This got a laugh from all the adults. Michael reared back his head, firing a thin jet of flame, gently washing over the bear. It was actually intriguing watching as he subtly seared the meat. A delectable odor slowly permeated the air._

 _"Now this is what I'm talking about!" A rough, haggard sounding voice rang out, and almost all the adults became very tense at the man who had just stumbled into the clearing. I had never seen a sorrier example of humanity in my entire life. He was in his mid-thirties, tall and lanky, matted white hair framing blood-red eyes with a sadistic air, his lips curled into a permanent sneer. A nasty, lightning bolt-like scar ran up the left side of his face from his temple to his chin._

 _He wore a long coat that was mostly white but looked a little dingy, over a silk shirt colored a deep blood red that seemed on the threadbare side. Dark brown pants with a few patches and worn leather boots covered the lower part of his body. It was capped off by a pair of swords hanging on both sides of his belt. Oh, and did I mention the horrific smell wafting off this guy? I leaned into Kyana, whispering. "Who in the hell is this guy and why does he smell so pungent?"_

 _"I don't know, but he clearly doesn't know the meaning of the word 'bath!', seriously how hard is it to go dunk yourself in a river." She was just as disgusted._

 _The man in red and white sauntered up, taking a tankard of mead from Ioran, who just flashed a sour glare at him. "Oh come on, Ioran, don't be like that! It's been so long since I've seen all of you!" Devola's ace screwed up, whether it was the odor or the creepily lecherous gleam he was giving her, I wasn't sure. "Hey there, Red! You look hot as always, that immortality juice is keeping you looking good as always. Why is it the mages who get all the nice stuff?"_

 _He looked about ready to say something to Quora, but just shook his head and moved on. Rodger gave a disdainful expression to Popola. "Oh great, bookworm girl is here too. I thought I smelled math." Rodger then directed his gaze to Michael. "Hey, you greasy ol' lizard! I haven't seen you in the better part of a decade! Wow, this really is a reunion of friends!"_

 _Michael snorted derisively. "Human years don't matter to me, although I wish it had been much longer."_

 _"What are you doing here, Rodger?" Mark asked through clenched teeth. "I don't seem to recall you being invited!" Erik had put himself in front of Felecia, both clearly knowing who this smelly, scarred asshole was._

 _"Yeah, this is supposed to be family only!" Ioran snapped._

 _The man, named Rodger just took a swig of mead. "Aw come on, Ioran! You said I was an honorary member of the clan. That counts, right?" He said._

 _Ioran looked to Mark. "Tell me you didn't invite him?" Mark shook his head, to which Rodger just gave a mock hurting expression._

 _"I most definitely did not! The last time I saw him was two years ago! In fact, I recall quite explicitly banishing him from my home!" Mark's fingers twitched, his hand dropping to the sheathed longsword hanging at his side. "He just invited himself over, got plastered and started bragging about his sexual exploits in front of my children! I bodily threw him out of the house and told him to never come anywhere near us ever again!"_

 _Rodger just gave an idle shrug before emptying the tankard. "Hey, the kids have to learn about the joys of reproduction sooner or later, not my fault you're such a prude about the subject. Besides, last time I checked, Ioran didn't have any kind of ban on me. Come on, Markie, can't you just let bygones be bygones? I'm just here to get shit faced off the prime elven booze from Ioran's personal collection, and then sleep it off on the floor. Is that so much to ask?" It was then he turned to look at me. "What are you looking at, ya brat?"_

 _I blinked, realizing I had been staring at him the whole time. My eyes had gone to his swords, unlike anything I had ever seen before. They had a short, curved blade, with a basket-shaped handguard that ran the length of the handle, and kept in far better condition than either his clothes or his own personal hygiene. I just schooled my features into the same dismissive glares the adults had given him. "I'm just looking at smelly, old bastard that doesn't have a clue about the concept of bath time."_

 _Rodger just let out a hollow, amused laugh. "Oh, the kid's got jokes! Where did you find him, Ioran?" He then eyed the twin swords on my back. "So you any good with those, runt?"_

 _"I killed a soldier from the Order of the Seal with them," I said without missing a beat._

 _Rodger just scoffed. "Yeah right, kid!"_

 _"Ah, but he did. For I saw it happen with my own two eyes." Michael's throaty voice spoke up, letting out a small wingbeat. "This little hatchling is quite resourceful for one so young. Not to mention with plenty of courage." Rodger looked from the dragon, to me, and then back. He seemed to consider this for a few seconds. Before cracking his neck, stretching his arms over his head._

 _"Is that so? Who's been handling your sword training then?" Rodger asked. Ioran cleared his throat and this made Rodger roll his eyes and frown deeply. "Oh seriously? Everyone worth their salt knows that Elves don't know the first thing about sword fighting. It's all sneak attacks and raining arrows down from the sky with you and your precious Squirrels. This kid would be dead in seconds if they get close to him with those stupid knife-ear tactics of yours. I've got some free time on my hands, I'll whip him into shape."_

 _Ioran tensed, hand going to his own weapon for a second. But Popola was the one who broke the tension. "Wow, that's remarkably generous of you, Rodger. It's very out of place, given how much of a bigoted asshole you are." She put her hands on her hips, as Devola folded her arms. "What's it in for you? We know you don't work for free. It's the whole privateer motto. You won't do anything unless there's booty, booze, and actual booty on hand."_

 _"Yeah, and work is the one thing you hate doing unless it involves you gutting someone." Mark grunted._

 _Rodger let out a low chuckle, it was a sinister one, devoid of compassion. "In that regard, you are absolutely right! This absolutely relates to my favorite sin in the world besides fornication. This kid has a killer instinct. And I'm going to take that mold him into the best damn killer in all of Midgard. After all…it takes a killer to teach a killer!"_

The entire dinner table was silent. No one was certain what to say. Rita was chomping down on some bread, Estelle looked close to tears. "He actually trained you?" Karol said, finally breaking the silence. "Nothing against you, Ezra. But He sounds like one of the worst examples of humanity you could ever have as a teacher."

Ezra just sighed, taking another slurp of his stew. "Rodger's tutelage was certainly…different, to say the least. I suppose it's not a stretch to say that I learned all my worst habits from the man. He could talk about killing, murder, and death in general as casually as someone would discuss the weather. It was usually his first solution to everything. And that sentiment did rub off on me, much to the chagrin of my comrades." He looked to where the girls were sitting and all gave weary nods at that. "But on the other hand, he did know his swords. And we really weren't that different."

"You're nothing like him!" Estelle cried out. "He's just a cold-hearted monster."

Ezra reached over, gently patting her hand. He offered her a kind smile before manifesting a serious expression. "I'm glad you're one to see the good in me, Estelle, but I have to set you straight. Even now, I feel like Rodger was the one person who genuinely understood all the rage I was carrying in my heart. He told me that my sentiment for revenge was totally normal, and it was okay to feel that way. If someone bloodies your nose. You return it right down to the sword through their throat. You loot everything off them and dance on their corpses."

"Ezra." Estelle whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. As it was with Phoebe and Felecia.

"He isn't entirely wrong, dearie." Raven spoke up, a weariness in his voice that wasn't normally there. "As someone who has been around the block a few times. I can tell you it is completely human to want revenge if you've been wronged. Some are just more open about it than others. Not that I'd ever condone that kind of thing myself."

"Rodger stuck around the village after that. I think it really surprised Ioran and everyone else. The man was legendary for flying in, sticking around long enough to get hammered and take a woman to bed and he'd be off the very next day. But he was there, through every step and hard knock. Rodger taught me what I needed to know, and helped me find direction in my life."

 _(Four Years Later)_

 _"That's enough for today!" Rodger barked, idly tapping his cutlass on his shoulder, looking on at Kyana and myself, both dripping in sweat and panting heavily. It was a miracle I could even stand after the day's training, but that's how it had been since I had met the man. Despite his surly, perverted, violent attitude. Rodger did have a small degree of compassion. He ran Kyana and I ragged, day in, day out. But our skills had grown by leaps and bounds in that time under his tutelage. In a lot of ways, it was like having to relearn how to use the sword all over again. Being from the land of Arcadia, his techniques were totally different from everything Naaman had taught me._

 _The three of us were settled in around the fire in the center of the village. Kyana had been so exhausted, I carried her on my back. She curled up, resting her head in my lap. I idly stroked her hair while looking into the snapping, dancing flames. I wasn't sure how I felt about her at that time, but I did know she meant the world to me. Rodger certainly knew. "Now that is just too cute." He drawled. "I have to give her credit. Ioran's daughter has some real fight in her, she's earned that lap pillow tonight."_

 _"She didn't want to get left behind," I said._

 _"A man's gotta have a strong woman backing him up," Rodger said, idly tapping his foot. "I'll be honest, kid. There really isn't much left for me to teach you. I remember when you were that little shit who had the balls to stand up to me. But you're not a little shit anymore. You're going to be a man soon. You're almost fifteen after all. It won't be much longer until you hit the big one-six. As a man, you need to figure out your own desires."_

 _"What are you getting at?" I asked him. He became very quiet, and thoughtful._

 _"Let me respond with another question. What are you going to use all the skills I've taught you for? I mean, Big M clearly has something planned for you. Why else would he bring you here in the first place? I know you don't want to stay in this piddly ass village the rest of your life. I mean, your chances of getting some sweet elven pussy are pretty high. But I know you want more than just the simple life. Especially with all this Tracker shit you've been gobbling up. You've really been into old man Dandelion's poems about them, you always get so worked up when you read about the White Wolf."_

 _"It's just amazing what the Trackers can do," I said. Okay, I'll confess that I romanticized about the Trackers. Ever since I found the swords back home, I had become obsessed with them. It got to the point that Devola and Popola were bringing back actual texts about the Trackers and what they could do. Alchemical formulas, sword techniques, and the vast compendiums of knowledge about monsters. And there was good cause for that. In the intervening years, I found that I was actually like them. I could heal from injuries much faster than others, and my senses were all hyper-aware._

 _"Yeah, they're all freaks, but I mean that in the best way possible." Rodger quickly amended. "Being able to see in the dark the way they can. I'd be lying if I said I was just a little bit jealous." He sighed, watching the flames leap up as he put another log in. "I guess what I'm trying to get across to you, is you don't need to stay here when the big, wide world is calling out to you. We've talked enough about your plans to look for your mother and avenge your stepfather's death to know that you don't want to live your whole life here."_

 _I clenched my hands at those words. Rodger was correct in every single way. I had been getting more and more restless, the village feeling more stifling by the day. Even going out into the forest and culling the local wildlife was becoming stale. I wanted to get out there and flex my muscles, see what I could do. "Michael and Ioran don't think I'm ready yet. The Twins as well." I said._

 _Rodger snorted, spitting into the fire. "If you keep living by their wishes, you'll never get anything done, kid. And besides, how do they know when you're ready?" He put an emphasis on the last word. "You need to start thinking for yourself. I'm saying this because I actually give a shit about, Ezra. Everyone else wants to keep you confined here until you're ready, but what the hell does that really mean? It's a buncha shit if you ask me. Even if you do have some talent, it needs to be supplemented with real-world knowledge and experience. It's how I learned." He stood up. "Just think about that for a while." And he walked back to his cabin, belching before going inside._

 _With that, I was left alone with my thoughts. Another forty minutes or so passed when I heard a soft moan as Kyana stirred, her eyes fluttering open. "Hey," I said softly, letting her sit up. "You have a nice snooze?"_

 _"Yeah." She yawned, stretching her arms up. We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything. Kyana rested her head against my shoulder. Kyana looked up at me questioningly. "Is something wrong?" She asked, concerned._

 _"Just a few things Rodger and I were talking about earlier." I took a deep breath, not sure how she'd respond. "Tell me how you feel about this, Kyana. But have you ever considered if it's time for us to leave the village and venture out there into the world?" She paled quickly, biting her lip._

 _"I don't know about that. I've never been outside the village before. Daddy always warned me it was really hazardous out there, with all the monsters and bandits. Calima Nen may seem boring, but it is home." It then dawned on her, "Don't tell me you plan on leaving, Ezra! Dad and the others were clear that neither of us were ready to go!"_

 _"Forget what Ioran and everyone says. Think for yourself just this once, Kyana. What is it you want to do?"_

 _"I really don't know," Kyana whispered, sniffling a little as she took hold of my arm. "I do know I want us to stay together, Ezra. Is that so hard to accept?"_

 _My hand clenched. "Maybe it's easy for you to keep your head down here, Kyana, but not for me. This burning in my chest I feel it every single day. The people who destroyed my village and shattered my family are still out there. My mom is waiting for me. If I'm going to find her, that means I have to leave Calima Nen. I don't know if she's in danger, and if she is, I'm the only one who can protect her. Naaman is dead, and I have no way of knowing if Kieran made it out alive." I struggled to keep my emotions in check, it was really not easy. "If I don't do this, who will, Kyana? My mother has no one else to rely on."_

 _"Ezra." Kyana tried to reason with me, but I wasn't stopping._

 _"I have two main goals, avenge Minas Tor, and find my mom. Nothing is going to stop me. I don't care if I have to fight the Order and the whole of the High King's armies. He's the one who ordered them to come after us. Someone I had never met was so intent on killing me because I was the son of his enemy." My shoulders sagged, feeling way older than the fourteen-year old I was. "In truth…I'm still just as much of a target now as I was then. If they came around and found me here. They'd put all of you to the sword, just as they did everyone back home. I could never live with myself if anything happened to you, or Ioran, or the twins. It keeps me up at night just thinking about it."_

 _"But certainly the Order isn't that close?" Kyana offered._

 _"Not from what I've heard. They've been increasing its operations in Ballar. It's sounding like they're getting ready for something big."_

 _"Where did you learn that?" She hissed._

 _"Ioran and the Twins. What if the Order is looking for me specifically? Novigrad isn't too far from Temeria. It's only because of King Foltest's stubbornness that the Empire has kept away from it as long as they have. But it won't last forever. The High King will make Georg put the pressure on him. Once they do that, Temeria will be crawling with Order agents and knights."_

 _Kyana nodded. "We can endure anything as long as we're together. There are plenty of non-humans and bearskin in Ballar that would fight them. The Scoia'tael are just one of part of the movement under the surface. At least that's what Daddy always tells me."_

 _I rolled my shoulders. "I know Ioran would fight against them tooth and nail, but I sincerely doubt that even he knows what the Order of the Seal is really capable of. Not the way I do. I don't know all the details about them, what drives their need for conquest, but it's quite clear they're an army of zealots that have no fear of death. That much is assured."_

 _"Before we go off and do anything stupid, let's at least talk to Michael, Ezra. He may be able to give you some insight." Kyana offered. I continued holding her hand as we looked at the fire._

 _"Okay, I'll do it for you," I said._

 _(Two Weeks Later)_

 _I nervously paced back and forth at the entrance to the small cave Michael stayed in whenever he visited the village. It hadn't been easy, biding my time until I confronted him. On the other hand, it did give me plenty of time to mull on Rodger's words and help me work out what I wanted to say to Michael._

 _My hands wrenched nervously. "Just be bold," I whispered, taking a final deep breath and mustering all my courage. I strode into the cave. Michael was gnawing on some bones, probably from some animal he had hunted. Keeping my composure, I tried to sound confident but not demanding. "Hey, Michael. Sorry to interrupt your meal, but we need to talk about something." After stripping off what I believed was a rib bone._

 _"What is it, Ezra?" Michael asked, his tone sounded bored, before letting out an idle chuckle. "Don't tell me, you want to know when you can start looking for your mother? You know my response, it's the same as always…you're not ready." My hands balled into fists with those words. "Look, Ezra, I've had hundreds of pact partners in my lifetime, and believe me when I say this conversation is nothing I'm not unfamiliar with."_

 _"So what you're saying is my concerns don't matter?" I bit out, my fury rising by the second. "Well excuse me, I have to disagree with you! I've been learning all these skills for the past six years and to what end? You obviously have some kind of purpose for me, some plan, and I don't know jack shit about it!" I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I can't walk this path if I don't know the destination, Michael. You have to give me something, a little idea of what the endgame is, or this whole thing is just a waste of everybody's time, Rodger's, Devola's, Popola's, and especially mine!"_

 _I turned to leave only for the ground to shake, Michael had reared himself up to his full height. "It is NOT a waste of time! There is a damn good reason you've undergone this training, young man and you will respect it!" He snorted, his voice softening. "Fine then, if you must know. Then tell me this, child. That day in Minas Tor, did anything…unusual happen?"_

 _"Unusual like what?" I said. And then I remembered how the Reaper's blade ripped through Mom's back, blood gushing everywhere. The black flower erupting from her eye, and how it disgorged her, soaked in blood. "Well, there was one thing. It was certainly unnatural enough. I looked through all the records the Twins brought back. The Tracker compendiums, the books on demonology, I even perused old tomes of legends. All of it came up blank. But I know what I saw. It will forever stay in my mind. A black flower coming out of my mother's eye, and spitting up a complete copy of her."_

 _The way the flesh tightened around Michael's eyes was proof I had hit the mark dead-on. He settled on his taloned feet. "That…particular creature will not be found in any record, man or elven. However, it is very well known to the dragons. One of our oldest and most ancient enemies. A demonic plant from another realm, well outside mortal comprehension. It has plagued dragon kind since time immemorial, it destroyed our original homeworld, and it forced us to spread out into other realms, this one included. The flower takes root inside mortal hosts, gaining strength until it blossoms. When it does, it will grow until overruns the entire world and nothing will be safe."_

 _He stuck his head in close, letting me get a good look at his golden eyes. "That flower is what brought me to Minas Tor. Every dragon can sense it instinctively. However it, along with your mother, had already vanished by the time I arrived. I…cannot best it on my own. Together, I do think we will have enough strength to stem the tide. That is why I brought you here, Ezra. If you continue your training, keep committing to what everyone teaches you. I know we can stop the flower, and maybe even rescue your mother."_

 _I could feel a new hope rising inside. There was now at least a way to identify this enemy that had taken so much from me. "Okay then, I'll let this go, for now. But one last question to you, Michael. When will I know when I'm ready?"_

 _The majestic white dragon just picked up another bone, a femur I believe, and began gnawing on it. "That is not for you to worry about right now, Ezra. You just take it one day at a time, and let me look at the bigger picture." He resumed gnawing on the bone and I left the cave, looking to find Kyana to do some sparring._

The entire crowd was silent. They were all taking in this last influx of information. Rita, being a scientist and thus the most analytical mind of their little crew was processing everything Ezra had said of his conversation with Michael. "It's starting to add up now." She finally said, drawing everyone's eye to her. Rita got up and began pacing around. "Your dragon said that the flower would bloom and envelop the entire world, destroying it. Which is pretty much what the Adephagos is threatening to do right now, sucking all the aer out of the realm."

"Keep going…" Judith said.

"Michael said that the Dragons have fought this Flower for a long time, now. Dragons are magical beasts by nature, so by our world's classification, that means they're effectively a class of Entelexeia. The latter of which have been trying to stop the Adephagos." Rita snorted. "This is way too convenient to be simple coincidence, but it could be possible that the two of these things are connected somehow."

"So this demonic plant is connected to the giant tentacle spouting vortex in the sky?" Yuri remarked. "Trippy…"

"A nice little piece of snark." Ezra grinned at the katana user who simply raised his glass. He then turned to Rita, who had since resumed her seat. "I have no doubt you're right on the money with your analysis, Rita. The two are way too similar not to be connected in some way. But I've just begun to tell this story."

"Are you sure you want to?" Estelle asked great melancholy in her pale green eyes, tears beginning to form. "It sounds like you've endured so much trauma through this. I don't want you to have to relive that pain all over again." Ezra just flashed her the smile she knew so well.

"I appreciate your concern, Estelle. I really do. It's sweet you care so much about my well-being, but I feel that I have to now." He said, bowing his head slightly. "I've carried this burden for a long time. Sharing this with you has made that weight a little less. There are moments in my life that tore me right to the bone. If recounting it for you and everyone else helps me make peace with my past, then I'll endure the exile, and lay it all out on the table."

"And you won't have to endure it alone," Fianna said. "We are all here for you, Ezra, and would never leave you."

"Unlike Rose," Felecia added coldly. Karol shivered a little at the way the Krityan half-breed said it.

"Okay, so keep going then!" Judith said. She had enjoyed hearing about Ezra's early days with the Elves. "Did you spend a lot more time in Calima Nen after that?"

Ezra shook his head. "About two years. Rodger left not long after my chat with Michael. He told me to look him up in a town called Vizima once I was ready to begin searching. I knew Ioran and the others would never understand, so I would have to wait and sneak out under the cover of darkness. I remember the night well…"


	3. At the River's End

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A Story of Eighteen Years

by Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Chapter 2: At the River's End

 _It was a night like none other, quiet, peaceful. I was passed out in bed, enjoying the cool breeze coming in from the window. I would have stayed like that if not for the door of my cabin suddenly banging open, admitting Popola. "You need to wake up right now, Ezra!" I had never heard her voice so sharp before, as I sat upwards in bed._

 _I managed as I crawled out of bed. It was then I noticed that she was crying. Instantly my senses went on full alert. The years of training have made them razor sharp. I grabbed my blades, cinching up my baldric. "What's going on, Popola? Did something happen?"_

 _Popola wiped the tears from her eyes, doing her best to regain her composure. "Just come with me. Ioran will explain everything." I fell into step behind her, walking over to Ioran's cabin, the largest in the village. I found him with Devola, looking about ready to smash something. Already I could feel a strong sense of dread forming inside._

 _"Hey, kid," Ioran grunted. He looked exhausted. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news, although it's probably what you've wanted for a long time now. Your time in the village is fast approaching an end." His words caught me by surprise. Truth is, I had been secretly planning to sneak out of the village for the past few weeks. I had gotten a letter from Rodger recently, asking if I had made up my mind about starting the hunt for my mom._

 _The letter pointed me to a city called Vizima in the Kingdom of Temeria. I knew Ioran and the twins wouldn't hear of it. I had quietly gathered some supplies and was just waiting for the right time. So to hear this was truly out of nowhere. I kept my cool, not wanting to give anything away. "Why exactly do I need to leave, Ioran?"_

 _It was then I noticed the tattered piece of cloth in his hand. Ioran passed it to Popola, who in turn gave it to me. I grimaced when I saw the coat of arms on it, and it all clicked into place. A large white eagle on a red shield with a scepter held in one talon, and a smaller black shield with a gold cross. "Redanians?" I asked. "Who got hit and how bad?"_

 _"It's bad, kid. As in, Minas Tor bad. They attacked Red Ridge in force. I was going to meet with one of my contacts, but the entire place was in ruins. I was lucky to find a lone survivor, and he was alive long enough to tell me about it." Ioran's words cut deeper than I liked. Red Ridge was the elven village nearest to us, just about six kilometers in fact. If the Redanians were making inroads, and if someone talked. It would eventually lead them to Calima Nen._

 _"Do we know what kind of forces we could be up against?" Devola asked._

 _"Three Gigas, about a dozen or so Ogres, and about a hundred Redanian regulars. It looks like a fairly common hunt for anything that doesn't match up to the Order's august standards." Ioran didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice. It did help to lighten the mood, if just by a very tiny margin. "Although this could be the beginning of something much bigger…and far more sinister. There have been rumblings about a planned campaign against the Nilfgaardians. It's mostly rumors right now, but there are reports they've been rounding up elves and…draining the blood."_

 _A part of me wanted to puke at those words. "Elf's blood? Why would the Redanians want elf's blood?" I asked in shocked surprise._

 _"Because it's a natural poison against dragons." Devola looked to me, reminding me sternly. I was studious, but sometimes shit facts like that were better to put in the back of my mind. "Remember from your history lessons, the Nilfgaardians have long employed mounted dragoon soldiers in battle. If Radovid is going this route. We would be looking at the fifth war between Midgard and the Nilfgaardian Empire in less than thirty years. Last time Midgard was on the defensive. I doubt it's the case this time."_

 _"So why does this mean I need to leave the village?" I finally asked the pertinent question. Devola just shuffled uneasily. Popola looked like she was ready to start crying again before she started speaking._

 _"Our major fear is if they find you, Ezra." She looked so ready to break down again. I truly wanted to hug her. "We don't think that the Order is actively hunting you, but if they raid this place and find a human. They're going to look into it. And once they find out who you are and who your parents were. Do I even need to finish?"_

 _"The bottom line kid is that we don't want to see that happen to you," Devola said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Even a tough girl like Devola had moments of weakness. She struggled to continue, squeezing out a tiny noise that sounded like a half sob. Popola put a hand on hers, giving her a comforting squeeze. I suppose even in some ways I was their little boy. "Against our better judgment. We're cutting you loose. You can even go see Rodger in Vizima if you want." I bristled a little, of course, they would have figured that out._

 _"However, there is a caveat to this," Ioran said, his visage becoming ever more deadly serious as my eyes locked with his. Although, there was a concerned gleam in his dark eyes. I knew what was coming as he paused for a moment to collect himself. Ioran only ever got this way when he spoke of Kyana. "You have to take Kyana with you. If she was caught here, then I know the Order would execute her on the spot. Or even worse than that, send her to some damn brothel where she'll get used up before being tossed aside to rot on the garbage heap."_

 _The corners of my lips twitched downward in disgust. I felt my anger build within me. The very idea of Kyana being treated that way made me want to hurt someone. Badly. I nodded quickly with no hesitation. I wouldn't put it past the Order to treat their female captives that way. "I'm in total agreement with you. No woman deserves that kind of fate." Although a part of me wondered how Kyana would take this turn of events. I took a chance and broached the idea of leaving home to her a few months ago. She didn't take it very well._

 _"First order of business, however, is taking out their vanguard. It won't halt them, but it should slow them down a little bit." It was clear Ioran was spoiling for a fight. Despite the respect, he had for certain humans like Mark and even myself, he wouldn't shed any tears at spilling the blood of the Redanians who had so callously killed his countrymen. I checked my blades one more time. I just shared a look with Ioran, no words were exchanged between us._

 _Minutes later, a sudden thought came to me as Ioran, Devola, and I stalked through the forest with a few members of the Scoia'tael, the resistance group Ioran had formed long ago. "Where is Michael? If the Redanians have Gigas and Ogres on their side, a dragon may come in real handy in this situation." I had images of the majestic white form soaring over and incinerating them all with a well-timed burst of dragon fire._

 _"He's on the way, but it may be a while until he arrives," Ioran said, before holding up a clenched fist, causing all conversation to halt as we ducked down in the brush. It wasn't long before the reason became apparent. A patrol of about twenty Redanians was coming through the brush. The Scoia'tael operatives nocked their bows, while Devola's hand began glowing as she prepared to conjure fireballs. Ioran's arm was raised, but I knew once it came down then the entire clearing would be stained red._

 _The hand came down and a half-dozen arrows silently whistled through the air. One getting it in both shoulders before finished by a projectile to the face, his eyeball hanging by its nerve. Another took an arrow to the knee before Ioran rushed out. His blade swinging upward, relieving the soldier of his arm, before taking off the upper third of his skull. A third was felled by arrows to the neck and stomach, blood already pouring out of the injuries._

 _"Archers!" The fourth soldier called out before being silenced by a fireball tossed by Devola, his head turned to a burned, charred mess. With our window of surprise gone, we rushed from the brush, and the battle was joined. Ioran and the Scoia'tael operatives let out war cries, steel clashing against steel in the dead of night._

 _I took advantage of the initial confusion, drawing my steel sword and rushing at one of the Redanian soldiers. Not hesitating to impale him square in the back. I could hear the gurgled sound he made as chocked on his own blood. I pulled my blade out, watching as he slumped to the ground, dead. I didn't have time to process it as another soldier, wielding a spear rushed me. I batted it aside, going for the soldier's neck, but with his weapon's longer reach, he knocked me back._

 _Bringing the sword up to a guard position, I tried another angle of attack, slicing upward only to be blocked by the spear's shaft. "Nice try you little punk! I'm not going to die so easily!" He sneered, giving me a view of his yellowed teeth. Something I didn't need to see. Not to mention the guy could have seriously used a bath._

 _I then saw Devola over his shoulder. She winked at me as flames were dancing on her hands, it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was going to do. I smashed my sword against his spear a couple of times before I kicked him in the chest. Devola held out her hands, letting twin streams of flame loose, engulfing the man in flames. His agonizing cries ringing off the trees, before I finished it off with a quick decapitation strike, a quick spurt of blood before the heat cauterized the wound._

 _I quickly turned around, finding myself with my face full of shield, as another Scoia'tael soldier fell to my left fell by way of axe to the neck. I barely had time to raise my sword in defense. The soldier kicked me, knocking me to the ground. "You're finished, knife ear!" The soldier sneered, raising his axe for a final blow, only to be met with a flurry of throwing knives to his chest._

 _There was Kyana in full battle garb. A green high-necked sleeveless crop top protected by brown leather chest armor inscribed with intricate elven designs; a red loincloth tied around her waist that half hid a pair of brown short shorts. Detached sleeves with wide flares made out of leather-covered the green, half hiding the fingerless gloves she wore. She also wore a single green stocking on her right leg. A thigh holster containing more throwing knives over a green leg band, topped off by a pair of brown leather boots she made herself. Her orange-red hair shone in the moonlight of the pleasantly cool spring eve. She'd had grown out since our first meeting, long enough to be tied up in a ponytail, while also held back by a blue and green bandana I had given her._

 _Her faithful axe in one hand, her dagger in another. Kyana wore a murderous expression. "Think again, asshole!" She hissed, burying her hatchet square in his face. Kyana paid no mind to the blood splashing across her forehead and cheek as he slumped to the ground dead. "I can't believe you were going to leave me out of this! I'm seriously hurt, Ezra!" The two of us stood back to back to protect the other's back from the soldiers boxing us in._

 _"Well, you don't have to worry, there's still plenty to go around!" There had only been less than a dozen soldiers in the scouting party, so it wouldn't be much longer before we wrapped this up. I could only appreciate Kyana's grace in short bursts as I dodged and blocked enemy strokes. But it was hard not to. She would flip and weave, almost dance in and out amongst the Redanians, made them look like a joke._

 _I caught the gleam of the large dagger she used in her off-hand, parrying the halberd the soldier carried. She brought her axe up, striking the flat of the blade against his helmet. This pissed him off a bit, and he clumsily swung his polearm. Kyana dropped into the splits letting it harmlessly pass over her, her sleeves whipping about. She twisted her body, kicking him in the chest before relieving him of an arm, the blood spraying out. He screamed in agony before she finished it with a knife to the throat._

 _Retrieving her weapon, she sought out her next target. The evil smirk Kyana now wore unsettled me just a bit as she rushed at another Redanian soldier. He brought his shield up to smash in her face, but the girl in green ducked and rolled underneath. She swung her hatchet, burying it deep in his left thigh before digging a chunk out of his right ankle. The blood pooling out into the grass. Kyana finished her assault by flipping up onto her hands, catching the guy's head between her ankles, gave a deft twist, and broke his neck._

 _"Show off!" I called out, settling for literally disarming my opponent just above the elbow, before plunging my blade into his heart. I could see about ten Redanians come at Kyana and I. We just wouldn't have been able to take them all out at once. Luckily, I was prepared for such occasions. "Kyana, get behind that rock, close your eyes, and cover your ears. I have a plan!" She gave a quick nod, jumping behind the very large boulder._

 _I conjured up a fireball in one hand. My eyes not breaking from the incoming squad. I took a breath, tossing it out before I brought my other hand up, bracing it in a vertical position, winds forming around it. I swung downwards, a blade of air cutting through all in front of it…including the fireball. Next thing you know, instant firestorm!_

 _The sound of the explosion was deafening, the shockwave alone eviscerated two of the enemy soldiers, turning them into pulp on the wind. The wall of flames expanding in all directions got seven of them. I could see the flesh burning off their bodies as they were immolated. A part of me was glad Kyana didn't see it. As for me, I was totally unfazed by the heat. True masters of pyromancy are immune to the flames on principle._

 _It was thanks to Devola and Popola that I learned fire was my natural element, certainly the most volatile of them all. Controlling the flames took a lot of practice and discipline. We trained out in the wastelands just to ensure that we didn't burn the entire forest down. I also learned throwing in wind magic could drastically increase the intensity of the flames._

 _I extended all four fingers and my thumb, once again bracing it with my other hand, staring down three of the surviving Redanians. "Don't blink guys." I quipped. I flicked all my fingers. The only sound heard was a sickening crack as the backs of their heads erupted outwards, sending blood, slivers of bone, and flecks of gray matter flying in all directions. "Because otherwise, you're already dead."_

 _In addition to fire and wind magic, Devola and Popola also taught me the fine art of telekinesis. Using my mind, concentrating great amounts of force into a very small space. A single flick and that force could ram through whatever was in its way, usually destroying it in gratuitous fashion. As the Redanians just found out the hard way._

 _After another few minutes, the Redanians all lay dead. Ioran ordered everyone to dispose of the bodies right quick. Once it was evident the advance guard was gone. The Order would no doubt call in reinforcements before launching a full-scale attack. It was quite apparent our safe haven had just vanished._

 _(Two Days Later)_

 _It was a tense forty-eight hours since the initial skirmish with the Redanians. If I had been smart I would have just grabbed Kyana and left at daybreak. However, Kyana convinced me that we should at least remain to see if we could push the Order back. Calima Nen was still our home after all._

 _The two of us had agreed to take guard duty for the night. So we were out there with a few of the Scio'tael. Everyone was checking their weapons and then doing it all over again, just to keep from freaking out. It was slightly chilly, Kyana shivered a little at the harsh wind nipping at her bare legs. "It's so cold!" She whined, pulling a heavy dark green wool cloak about her. "I definitely need to invest in some pants!"_

 _I wisely held my tongue, not wanting to earn her ire. A part of me rather enjoyed seeing those long, toned legs of hers. But I did wonder how she'd look with a nice tight pair of leggings on. I cringed a little at another bitter gust. "It's way colder than it should be," I said, tugging at my collar. "It's the middle of April for crying out loud!"_

 _Kyana sighed, sitting down on a fallen log. "So I guess you're really excited to begin looking for your mother, huh?" She looked down at the ground while idly flicking her feet. "I know it's been your main goal since Michael brought you here. Looks like I'm going to be joining you, whether or not I like it."_

 _I took a seat down next to her. "I know you would have been just happy to remain here and live out the rest of your days, Kyana. But I would think recent events would have opened your eyes to the truth. We're not safe here anymore." I put my arm around her. "Look, all we have to do is meet up with Rodger, and then we can start looking for Mom. If anyone can shed some light on this, it's her."_

 _It was then a cold feeling washed over everyone present. A sensation that ripped us all to the bone. A massive translucent dome formed into existence over the entire village. "Something's going on with the ward barrier," I said. Upon closer inspection, I realized what I was seeing was a thin layer of ice was forming. I looked to Kyana. "You know, something tells me that this isn't just some regular freak cold spell."_

 _It goes without saying, nonhumans are looked at with all degrees of fear and hostility. Elves especially. Hence why their villages are usually hidden by many layers of magical protection. Calima was no different. And the village's barrier had been reinforced by Devola and Popola, using whatever special magic they possessed. Trying to breach such a barrier usually considered a really bad idea, and by that I mean turned into a smoking, burning corpse._

 _The ice continued to slowly form across the dome, and more ice coalescing on top of what was already there. "How is that happening?" Kyana asked. Her panic growing by the minute._

 _"It could only be one of…them." A switch turned on in my head. "One of the Order's seal guardians." I swallowed hard. "The same people who attacked Minas Tor. I remember one of them had a sea creature of some kind as a summons. This must be their handiwork. They must be using it to freeze the foundation stones so they could destroy them."_

 _"If they're going after the foundation stones, the entire barrier would collapse!" Kyana exclaimed, turning to one of the Scoi'tael operatives. "Notify my father immediately. Tell him the Order is attacking the ward stones." The elven warrior just gave a curt nod before hightailing it back to the village. Just as a bestial roar reverberated through the trees._

 _Kyana and I braced ourselves for whatever was coming through. My eyebrows knitted together in rage and fury at the sight of a Gigas crashing through the trees, knocking over everything in our path. Smaller but no less ugly were the troupe of four Ogres lumbering at the giant's feet. This is putting mildly, but I'm not fond of such creatures at all. They're all the same, dumber than rocks, uglier than shit. Simply put, I thought they were a full-on evolutionary dead end. A view I would find myself changing over time. But at that moment I couldn't wait to put all those mongrel beasts in the ground._

 _Accompanying them weren't just more Redanian soldiers but actual Knights of the Order. I saw red when my eyes fell on those suits of armor, shining by the lights of the torches they bore. I drew my steel blade, taking note of the edge. It was then Kyana put her hand on my shoulder. Her eyes seemed to glow in the night. I felt my bloodlust abate a little. "You ready?" She asked, readying her hatchet and dagger._

 _"Always," I said, making a final check on my weapon. The Scioa'tael archers once again readied their bows, they were also backed by a couple of mages, one conjuring a swirling disc of fire, while lightning danced on the palms of another, forming into a long, wicked-looking spear, sparks dancing off every inch of the crackling surface. "Bring those monsters down!" I ordered, slicing my sword down. The first barrage of projectiles, magical and steel-tipped wood, flew into the night. As we all let out our best war cries, running through the barrier to try and bleed off some of the Order's manpower before the barrier dropped._

 _The arrows did little against the Gigas, even if they did manage any degree of penetration, it would have been like a pinprick to any of us. And even the Ogres' skin was thick enough that the arrows would be a moderate annoyance at best. But the lightning spears and flame discs were another story entirely. The lightning would explode on contact, covering the entire battlefield in lightning, causing anyone caught in the area of effect to become temporarily paralyzed, leaving them open to the archers._

 _I always admired the Scioa'tael for their incredible accuracy, managing to aim their arrows at the gaps in the armor of the Order's knights, which left them vulnerable to the flame discs, slicing them in half. They didn't even have time to bleed out as the searing, hot flames cauterized every blood vessel. Leaving nothing but piles of molten slag mixed with smoking meat. The Redanians suffered even more so, running about as the fires melted their uniforms to the body before they collapsed, one after another. Burning, charred corpses, every last one of them._

 _Kyana and I wasted no time, rushing toward the enemy line. I had swapped out the steel blade for the silver one, a necessary measure against the monsters. Even if it was a rough, broken shade of its former glory its machete length was more than enough to deal enough damage to anything reasonably sized. I saw a tiny glint out of the corner of my eye as a pair of throwing knives sailed through the air, hitting one of the ogres in the shoulder. The beast roared, swinging its club to crush Kyana. She was too quick, ducking under the strike to get behind his back. She leapt up, bringing the hatchet down square on its neck, blood gushing out._

 _I followed up, silver sword swinging around to get the ugly mass of flesh in its side, just below the floating ribs. The ogre roared in a mixture of rage and agony. The giant club swinging about in all directions trying to hit something. But Kyana and I were too fast on our feet to let ourselves be taken out in such a way. I certainly wasn't going to die this early on, especially to some dumb monster. I swung my blade again, while Kyana springboarded off his head, tossing another pair of throwing knives. Her aim was perfect, connecting right in the brute's dead-looking white eyes!_

 _The ogre screamed, flailing about now that it was blind. I looked to Kyana and we both smirked. It was time to bag our first ogre kill! I brandished my silver sword, dropping into a crouch, folding my arm towards the shoulder while giving my upper body a slight twist. My sword erupted in a brilliant yellow light. "Vorpal Strike!" I roared, lunging forward at the Ogre, impaling the monster right through its leg. It collapsed to its knees. "Kyana now!" I yelled._

 _Her sleeves audibly snapped with each rapid step she took. She ran up a nearby rock, hatchet high over her head. With a berserker cry, she brought her weapon down, embedding it as deep into the monster's skull as she possibly could. The dull echo of a skull breaking was music to our ears. The only sound the ogre made was a rattling gurgle before it collapsed onto its back, very much dead. Kyana vaulted through the air, landing perfectly. She flashed a smile at me and my heart fluttered a bit._

 _However, we didn't have time to celebrate as we still had three more of the beasts, plus the behemoth towering over everything. The ice was still growing over the barrier, showing that the Seal Guardian Haunch was still freezing the foundation stones for the wards. We were ready to take on the next ogre when the Gigas turned and suddenly headed in the opposite direction, the Order and Redanians huffing and puffing to keep up. We saw it head toward a nondescript pile of rocks._

 _"The ward stone for this part of the barrier!" Kyana exclaimed. I didn't say anything. The barrier was being weakened by the influx of magic. But a single swing of a club would mean the structure itself would be destroyed and then the wards would fall and the Order could move in. Kyana and I moved it as fast as we could, only for the other three smaller brutes to get in our way. It would take way too long to get through them in order to stop the Gigas from smashing the ward structure._

 _A massive roar rang through the woods. I couldn't help but crack a grin at the sight of Michael soaring majestically in the night sky. His white scales reflecting in the pale moonlight. He swooped down, blasting flames at the ogres. The monsters roared in agony, even their thick skin couldn't last long against the searing heat. "Yeah, get them, big guy!" I raised my sword in the air, while Kyana cheered._

 _He directed his attention at the Gigas, going in to rake its eyes with large, taloned feet. The giant roared, swiping at Michael, who hovered just beyond the reach of his club. "Don't worry children. I can handle this." He said, between flame discharges. "You go and stop the one freezing the barrier. It won't be much longer before it falls." We needed no further prompting. I gave a final salute to the white dragon and we bolted._

 _It wasn't difficult to find that sour-faced wench. The closer we got, the colder it became. The moisture in the air beginning to solidify into a heavy mist. We ran through a grove of trees, and there she was, just as I remembered from all those years ago. The dark bags around her sunken in eyes. The droopy cheeks. It was as if she hadn't aged a day. Her hands outstretched, pouring eldritch blue rays into the ward structure. Ice continuing to form, until it covered the entire barrier dome. And finally…it gave out._

 _"No!" Kyana cried, fingers already going for her throwing knives, looking to plug Hanch in her goth face. But she quickly whipped her hand out, freezing the daggers, clattering to the icy ground. I had never seen Kyana so livid before if the way she was clenching that hatchet was any indication. I had to hold out an arm to keep her from leaping at her, it was taking all my willpower to rush at her myself._

 _"Ah, so we have some new arrivals." Hanch's spear lightly tapped on the ground. She sounded so disinterested in the whole thing. Which just further made Kyana see red. This was the one in charge of destroying her home and it wasn't it didn't matter at all. "At least you made it easy on yourself."_

 _I held myself in check the best I could, but the images of that day were harder to ignore. Hanch then directed her gaze to me. Deep in my mind, I wanted to gouge out my own eyes if it meant not looking at that sunken in face of hers any longer than I had to. I then decided gouging out her eyes would be much more productive, not to mention it would be a huge improvement to her looks._

 _With that thought in mind, I brought my hand up, my fingertips starting to glow as energy gathered there. "Hey, It's been a while since we've last met." A small spark grew into a flame. "Your looks haven't improved at all." I thrust my arm in a horizontal slashing motion, letting a crescent-shaped jet of flame rush at her. "How about I change that for you?"_

 _She just yawned before raising her hand, with a snap of the fingers the flames were encased in ice, falling to the ground, shattering. Hanch's eyes raced for a minute. It was like she needed to register just who I was. And then it clicked for her, her lips becoming a thin line of disdain. "That face, I know who you are! That bitch Yesenia…she's your mother! I can see it as clear as day!"_

 _I felt my face screw up as she said that, but I let it fuel my resolve for what was to come next. I settled for putting on my best sneer. "That's right, Hanch! I see your nose is still a little on the crooked side after you got kneed in the face. Mom's aim was spot on in that regard." I pointed my sword at her. "As a matter of fact, I'm looking for her. Maybe you can answer some questions in that regard…once I've chopped off your legs at the knees."_

 _But before I could even do anything, a wall of flames ripped through, separating Kyana and I from her. I looked to see Devola and Popola appear. "What are you two doing?" I yelled at them. The misty air swirled around Hanch as she conjured a shield to protect her from the heat._

 _"This isn't the time or place for this, Ezra! You and Kyana have to live!" Devola cried out, continuing to intensify the flames, making the wall of fire grow more and more as Hanch pumped more frozen air to try and snuff them out._

 _"No, this is as much our fight as it yours!" Kyana protested. "This is our home too, Devola! We have to defend it!"_

 _"I'm afraid that isn't an option anymore, Little Sis," Devola said, ducking an icicle tossed at her by Hanch. "The only thing remaining for you here is death. It will put both of us at ease if you two were somewhere safe." She threw an apologetic smile at us. And even in the darkness, I could see the tears in her eyes. "Be safe, kids."_

 _Popola raised her hands, glowing with a brilliant white light. "A final lesson for you two. Seek out the Legacy of Solomon, Ezra. It will aid you in your quest." She smiled sadly, tears running down her face "You've grown so much, and we're so proud of you. Please take care of each other." I couldn't say anything more as the light grew, blinding me._

 _The light dissipated, both Kyana and I looked about at our surroundings. We stood in the middle of a circle of stone pillars with more stones lying flat on top of them. I could see elven runes carved on the stones with a slowly fading glow. "This must have been used by the ancient elves for magical transportation," I said to no one in particular. I took a moment to look up, it was still the dead of night. The stars were shining brightly, and it was calm, peaceful even. A far cry from the nightmare we had just left._

 _Once I got my bearings, I reasoned the best thing to do was set up camp for the night and wait until morning. Wherever this place was, it seemed to be pretty far off the beaten path, and I didn't feel like traipsing through unknown woods. I looked to Kyana, she was still rooted to the place she stood, her back to me. It occurred to me she was still in shock at what happened back in the village. "Kyana, hey, you listening to me?" I reached out to touch her shoulder, and a wail of pure agony filled the clearing._

 _She turned around, tears in her eyes as she threw herself into my arms, crying into my chest. "Why? Why did this all happen, Ezra?" She managed between sobs, delicate fingers clenching my shirt "Our entire village is gone! Daddy, Devola, and Popola. It's just like, like." She couldn't say anymore, settling for just more sobbing. I said nothing, settling for just gently stroking her back. I figured it would be easier once she had worked it out of her system. Finally, it subsided. She looked up at me with tear stained green eyes. It hurt so much to see her this way. "Where do we go from here, Ezra? I feel so lost."_

 _I brushed my hand along her cheek, silently relishing how soft her skin felt. "For now, we get some sleep. Once first light hits, we'll hit the road and try and find some hint of civilization. We can plan our next move from there." Kyana just gave a weak nod, sleep was looking real inviting at that moment. Not wanting to stay out in the open, we went into the treeline near the clearing, bedding down beneath a large redwood, leaning against each other. Kyana was asleep in minutes, but it took me a little longer. I kept thinking about Popola's final words about 'seeking the Legacy of Solomon' and what it could possibly mean._

 _It had never come up much during any of our lessons. Although I did remember it being a rather vague magical theory. There no existing records, mostly because it was violently quashed by the Order. That or people just quit believing in it. Either way, if anything related to this so-called legacy existed, it would be out there somewhere. But for now, I would just settle for keeping Kyana safe and getting to Vizima. I'm not even sure if we're anywhere close to it._

 _We awoke to a beautiful sunrise. I wish there was more time to enjoy it. I stood up, cracking my neck as Kyana stretched her arms up. "I'm hungry, although I don't think we have any food, considering how fast we left." She said. "I suppose we can always hunt for breakfast."_

 _"How does bear steak grab you?" I asked._

 _Kyana's face screwed up. "Ew! I'm hungry, but I'm not desperate! You know how fatty and gamey bear meat is. It would wreck my figure!" I couldn't help but let a chortle escape from my lips. She pouted at me. "Hey, just what's so funny?"_

 _"It's good to see you going on about something trivial." I put my hands on her shoulders. "I know that what happened last night was traumatic. You didn't want to leave, but we can't do anything about that now, Kyana. All we can do is move forward and try to survive. I have your back if you have mine." I held my hand out. "What do you say?"_

 _Even if her eyes were still somewhat melancholy, It was good to see that bright smile again. She gave a slight nod as she clasped my arm. "Always!" Her face took on a more neutral demeanor. "So where do we go from here, Ezra? Personally, I think it may not be a bad idea to stay here in the woods for a bit longer, but I'll follow your lead."_

 _"Hanging around here is a bad idea. We have a head start and it's probably a good idea to put as much distance between us and here that we possibly can. Judging from the fact that I don't see any mountains or deserts, I'm going to assume we're still somewhere in the Land of Forests. And now that Hanch knows I'm alive, we need to keep moving if we want to stay ahead of them."_

 _I took a few steps before Kyana put her hand on my shoulder. "That was one thing I never understood, why are you so important to them? I mean, thanks to Ioran and the twins, and even Rodger I suppose, you're a fairly skilled warrior, but still only one person. Why would the Empire consider you such a threat?"_

 _There it was, the question I knew she would ask eventually. I hesitated for a bit, not sure how to answer. My fingers curled up and down. I wasn't sure how to explain the whole mess with the Flower to her, so I decided to keep that particular part to myself for now. "It all stems from my mother. She used to be the court mage of the High King himself. She…stole some valuable secrets from him and it pissed the Empire and the Order off quite a bit. As such, I spent a lot of my young life on the run. Minas Tor wasn't the first place I lived, but it was where they finally caught up to us. I…really can't say anything more for right now, Kyana. It's really painful to talk about, I hope you understand."_

 _This seemed to placate her for the moment. Kyana took hold of my hand, resting her head against my shoulder. "So Bright River isn't the first home you've had to leave behind."_

 _"Yeah, although this is the first time I've brought someone along with me for the ride." I gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It's a nice change to have a friend with me. I'm sorry it had to be like this, but knowing I'm not alone makes it a little more bearable."_

 _"I feel the same way. As long as you and I are together, I feel like I can endure it." We broke camp and made our way through the woods. Luckily we didn't have to go far before finding a well-traveled road. "Finally, a little luck!" Kyana said, skipping down the path. The sun was high in the crystal blue sky, and not a single cloud was in sight. The attack on the village seemed just to be a distant nightmare that was slowly fading away. However, my inner sense of danger told me it wasn't over yet._

 _The first sign of civilization came after we'd been walking for about half a day. A sign affixed to a tall gnarled wooden post. "Lothric Town, ten miles." Kyana seemed in high spirits. Although I couldn't help but feel that sense of dread growing again. I tried not to say anything, and just let her enjoy the time._

 _It was when we saw the road marker saying Lothric was only five miles away, the dread intensified even more. A familiar smell soon wafted through the air. "Oh no…" Kyana whimpered. She could sense it too. It was a stench both of us knew. It was the stench of death. Already she was fingering the head of her axe, her mind probably running through any number of grim scenarios for us to find._

 _Finally, the road opened up and we saw the village of Lothric, or rather what remained of the village of Lothric. It was an all too familiar sight to me. Caved-in roofs on top of flame scorched walls, doors and window shutters hanging off the hinges from being forced open. Carts, wagons, and various other pieces of property smashed into pieces, the pungent odor of ash and blood in the air, and of course a giant pile of bodies unceremoniously dumped in the center of the ruins to finish it all off. Really, a lovely backdrop for a romantic stroll through the countryside._

 _"Weapons out! Be on your guard Kyana!" I barked, drawing my steel sword as I began inspecting the area. I ran my fingers along one of the walls, noting the soot that came off on my fingertips. I let out a wordless grunt, before turning to her. "This is very recent, possibly in just the past day." I sighed, shaking my head. "We need to tread very carefully. The Redanians could have left a couple of patrols in the vicinity, looking for stragglers.."_

 _"What now?" Kyana sounded so tired when she asked that question, looking more dejected than ever. I'm certain she was hoping to get a meal and some rest. That way we could cool off and plan our next move. She really looked like she needed a hug._

 _I put my arm around her waist, hoping to comfort her a little. This wasn't the time to get overly emotional or sentimental, but I know this was all new to her. She was going to need a gentle hand at first. "Let's scavenge for any supplies we can find." I cleared my throat. "I know you'll be repulsed by this, but let's check the bodies as well. Nothing is off-limits. We'll wait until nightfall, hopefully, we can avoid the enemy and make for Vizima." Kyana said nary a word. So we set off to do the dirty business required._

 _By the end, we had come off with a pretty decent haul, at least two thousand crowns worth of hacksilver. We even grabbed some of the fallen soldiers' weapons that were in decent condition, odds are we get could get at least another three hundred crowns for all of it. Taking refuge in the least damaged hut, we rested against the wall, leaning up against each other. The faint sound of Kyana's gentle breathing lulling me to sleep._

"Whoa there!" Raven cut in suddenly. Everyone had been so engrossed in Ezra's tale up to this point, no one had said anything up to that point. Even Rita had been quiet. "So you two weren't doing it yet? Because from where I'm standing. It sounds like there's a lot of handholding, hugging, and leaning on each other here. I'm surprised you didn't just take her right then and there!"

"Shut up, you lech!" Rita's fist came down square on the older man's head, sending him slumping into his seat, eliciting a frustrated groan from Judith and an embarrassed shake of the head from Yuri.

"I have no regrets!" Raven slurred, raising a fist in the air.

Ezra just rolled his eyes, knowing it would take much more than a single punch to keep him out for long. "Since we've stopped, does anyone have questions or things you want to comment on?"

"I had no idea my kind's blood was useful against Entelexeia. I can't help but feel bad for Ba'ul" Judith said.

"Yeah, but I seriously doubt you're going to slice open your hand and pour your blood down his throat, Jude," Phoebe said. "Whole villages of elves were slaughtered just so their blood could be harvested to be used against the Nilfgaardian dragon mounts. It would have turned your stomach at just how much devastation they would leave in their wake."

"The Empire and the Order all sound like a real vicious lot. If what they did at Lothric is their standard M.O. So do these Redanians, Although if I had to say, it's like they're just a client state for the Order." Yuri reached down to pet Repede, who just wagged his tail.

"That's pretty much what they are. The Redanians were usually the mooks the Empire sent in ahead of their own forces. Little more than glorified magic and arrow fodder." Fianna chimed in. "Their ruler, King Radovid, liked to think he was in control, but he wasn't. Not to mention he was a nasty piece of work all his own. He wanted magic and all related concepts wiped out, but more on that later."

Furiae shot a sad glance over to Ezra. The part about having to leave Bright River had truly struck a chord with her. "I feel bad you constantly had to be on the run. Your family was always looking over their shoulders, wondering if the Empire's agents would catch up to you. It's just like how people were always after me when I was the Goddess. I never felt truly safe wherever I went."

"The circumstances aren't quite the same, but that general feeling of always being hunted is one we're both quite familiar with. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. You can't make any lasting attachments, always have to be mindful of who comes around. It's a fate worse than death…at least until you do end up dead."

"Still, I'm glad Kyana was there to support you," Estelle said. She had felt equal parts sad and grateful that once again Ezra was forced away from a place he called home, but at least he wasn't totally alone this time. "It's a shame she's not here to contribute to this as well. I would have loved to hear her perspective."

"She'll meet up with us once we make port. The missions we've taken on are needed if we're going to support this ship and crew." Many of Ezra's party that had come with him from Midgard were out on various missions for supplies and coin. "Now, back to the matters at hand. I was about to learn a valuable lesson that even if you think you're a hero, often, it's not always the case."

 _I could have listened to the sound of Kyana's breathing all night. However, a shrill cry of terror quickly killed whatever sappy moment we were having. "What the hell is that?" Kyana said, hatchet already clenched firmly in hand. She had gotten real good with the old quick draw. The two of us came out of the hut, looking around for the source of the distressed scream. We made our way through the burned huts, eventually finding a gathering just outside the other side of the village._

 _We had stumbled into a full-blown witch burning. A man in his early forties was tied up on a large wooden stake, the robes he wore indicated he was an apothecary. Redanian soldiers were laying freshly chopped wood at the bottom of the stake. A young girl of no more than sixteen was held by two of them. She was crying, begging the soldiers to stop. But what caught my eye the most was the contingent of crimson armored knights, about eight of them, that stood a distance off._

 _Sitting atop a massive horse, fur black as night with a pale white mane was the biggest knight I had ever seen, clad in the same crimson armor, wielding a massive lance in hand. He was clearly the one in charge, and something about him just felt…wrong to me. I looked to the other knights, and they emanated that same sense of wrongness, if not as powerful._

 _The knight on horseback slammed his lance against the ground. "Foolish mortal, you have toyed with forces you cannot begin to control. The penalty of using magic is death, and thus you will be burned as such!"_

 _"Please, I am but a simple apothecary!" The man protested as a couple of burly soldiers came forward with lit torches. "I don't use magic at all! There's a difference between casting dark magic rituals over mashing plants, roots, and animal shit into a bowl!" He looked rather embarrassed to admit that last part. "At the very least spare my daughter at least!" Even from where we hiding I could see what the goons intended to do with her._

 _"Oh don't worry about that. We'll spare her the impossibility of having a good time with us!" One of the men holding her said with a lustful gleam in his eyes. "Yeah, she'll have a real good time!" He licked his lips before playfully tapping his fingers on her chin, which caused her to recoil in fear, even she could sense where this was going._

 _I could feel my blood heating up with each second. I found my hand gripping my steel sword tighter and tighter. I'm sure Kyana was wondering what I was thinking when I picked up a fairly good-sized rock. With a mighty heave, the rock flew through the air, beaning one of the torch-wielding Redanians square in the head, dropping him on his ass with the force of the rock. "Hey, fuckwits! Don't look twice!" I called out. Everyone turned to face us._

 _"Ezra, is that really wise?" Kyana whimpered. I then took stock of our situation, and thought maybe I had been a little too hasty._

 _"Well, now, who do we have here?" The crimson armored knight drawled. "It appears we have guests to our proceedings. By all means, join us. Although I'm afraid that the caterers aren't here yet." Clearly, he was being sarcastic. "But where are my manners? I am Duke Eligor, in charge of this hunt. Who might you be?"_

 _I just snorted derisively. "Like you care at all what the same of some random kid is? You care as much as you do about the people you're hunting like animals. Tell me, are you like everyone else in the Order? Do you just get off on inflicting pain on other people?" The knight just sighed._

 _"As a matter of fact, no I do not enjoy this job a single bit. I would much prefer an honorable duel against a worthy opponent, and it seems fortune has smiled on me today. It is rather curious to see you wielding two swords, but I'm sure you can give me a fairly decent fight. Provided you're up for it, boy."_

 _I just rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right, like anything about the Order is honorable." I drew my steel sword. "I know how you guys work. You'll take every advantage if you can."_

 _Eligor just let out another bored sounding sigh. "I suppose you are right in that regard. It's my lot as a knight of the order. It sometimes requires me to do unsavory things. But what can I do? If I'm ordered to do something, I must obey." It wouldn't be until much later that I realized how little I knew about this particular warrior. However, all I could think about was making this blowhard pay._

 _I held out my blade in challenge. "Well, let's get this honorable duel of yours over with." I guess on some levels this wouldn't be such a total loss. This would be the first real challenge I had faced since I started my training. A way to let me know how much I had improved, and how much work I still had ahead of me._

 _The crimson knight lowered his lance right at me. "I hope you and your little friend there are ready. Ensure your deaths will at least be quick." Kyana brought her axe and large knife as the Crimson Knight's followers slowly advanced, All with ill intent in their eyes. Only for a crossbow bolt to whiz just inches from my face and plug one of the Redanian soldiers square in the eye, he slumped to the ground, dead._

 _"Hey, you oversized tin can!" A crude voice barked. We turned to see a large man enter the clearing. First impressions were…he needed a bath, and fast! His salt and pepper beard was colored with spilled mead. While his clothes seemed to be of better condition than the average peasant, it was covered in blood and who knows what else. He was followed by a contingent of soldiers in the colors of the Kingdom of Temeria. "What right do you have in pushing around a couple of helpless kids?"_

 _"Who is he calling helpless?" I muttered. Yeah…I was a cocky little bastard back then. So sure of my own strength. Kyana gently dug me in the elbow. At least she was grateful to have some backup. The big guy walked up, a bastard sword clenched in a meaty hand. "So do you have a name, big guy?" I offered._

 _"Watch your mouth, whelp! The name is Philip Strenger, Captain Philip Strenger to be more specific!" He sounded so proud of himself like he was really someone important, and maybe he was, but I didn't care. With several large strides, he took a place beside Kyana, looking at Eligor with disdain. "You Order types get uglier by the fucking day. What atrocities against man are you doing now?"_

 _The crimson armored warrior paid the new arrival no mind. "The question you should be asking what atrocities against man haven't we committed yet? Nonetheless, you do make a valid point, mortal."_

 _Strenger just laughed. "Oh, sure! Keep making your lame ass jokes. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a few good ones for Radovid once I punt your sorry ass straight back into his crazy lap!" He brought his blade up to a guard position. "You kids get out of here! My men and I can handle this!"_

 _"No way you're getting rid of us that easy!" I snarled. "This guy is on getting on my last good nerve!" Two of the other crimson suited knights trotted up to join their master. While the rest of them and the regular Order knights and Redanian soldiers squared up against the Temerians. I wasn't too sure about our new ally, the man looked three sheets to the wind already, if the way his beard was stained was any indication._

 _Yet, I could tell he was at least a capable warrior, judging from how he wielded his blade. One thing I had learned from Rodger was picking up on the signs of how skilled those around you fought. I got the impression this was you'd know how to backstab anyone looking to sell you out, I guess it comes with having a pirate for a teacher. Strenger let out a war cry, rushing at the three knights. Only for one of the other knights to step in front of their commander. He raised his shield, knocking the drunken soldier back._

 _Kyana supported him by tossing out a couple of throwing knives, I decided to chip in by raising my free hand, imbuing them with my fire magic. Flames burst into life along the blades. I then used my telekinesis to increase their speed. The knights looked nonplussed. Eligor just raised his hand, and a flickering red wall appeared, the knives slammed into the barrier._

 _"Ha! So you can use magic as well? I guess we can add hypocrisy to the Order's many shortcomings." I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. "I mean seriously, sending a wizard to hunt down its own kind? I guess the Order really isn't the pinnacle of purity after all!" I smirked, it was a small victory, but I would take it!_

 _A low rumbling chuckle came from Eligor. "I'm not exactly a mage or wizard. I just have some…very unique powers all my own, mortal." He brought his hand up. "Would you like to see it?" He clenched his hand into a fist, chanting in a strange tongue that I couldn't recognize. Through the slits of his visor, his eyes flashed red. His two fellow knights suddenly cried out in agony, spasming all over._

 _That was only the beginning. The other two knights drew their swords, actually stabbing right into their horses' necks, their pained whinnying drowning out the wet slap of blood on the ground. Blood pooled out everywhere. "What the fuck is this all about?" Strenger asked. We got our answer soon enough as the blood began flowing upwards in the shape of strange runes encircling the knights, the twisted enchantment turned their armor a brilliant shade of vermillion._

 _I then realized what they were doing with a horrified gasp. "You sick bastard!" I could barely get it out, feeling my stomach uneasily churning. "You're using blood magic!" I could see now Eligor's subordinates had the same supernaturally glowing red eyes he did. "You really are a monster aren't you? Blood magic is about as bad as you can get! Not to mention they've just gained a very heavy magic resistance!"_

 _"It has its uses. Although it's a shame I don't have a few extra slaves on hand. Human blood is far more potent for this." This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the combatants. The other Order knights seemed to pay it no mind. The Redanians, however, had looks of confusion and even disgust at the gruesome display before them._

 _"Hey, what gives? We were out here to hunt witches, and this guy is using the foul art himself?" The Redanian commander remarked._

 _"This isn't good! What if he chooses to do that to us?" Another soldier said, fear coloring his voice. This was enough to make some of the Redanians decide enough was enough and run. Thing is, the Temerians weren't about to let them go so quickly. Strenger's men began hacking away at the retreating soldiers. One of them flung an axe, splitting their helm, killing them instantly._

 _Eligor slammed his lance on the ground. I get the impression he did that a lot. "Perhaps you've forgotten about me and my little puppets?" His voice took on a menacing tone. "You still have to deal with them!" Strenger just looked annoyed, raising his blade once again. I was right there with him, a part of me wanting to pull out my silver blade, if magic was involved it would be a must. However, it wouldn't be so useful at this point. Thanks to Ioran the broken blade had been reforged into a dagger, but it wouldn't have the reach to take this thing on._

 _The two lesser knights grunted, shambling toward us. The eyes blazing through their helmets. All three of us stood as one. There wouldn't be time for hesitation. So we just went. Kyana in the middle, Strenger on the left, myself on the right. The first one took the massive greatsword it was carrying, raising it with a single hand, spinning it with terrifying speed. Kyana deftly rolled out of the way, while Strenger raised his bastard sword, parrying the knight's weapon away._

 _"That all you got?" The Temerian Captain sneered, swinging his sword, but the knight, at least twice his height blocked Strenger. Kyana tossed a couple more throwing knives before going in with her axe, bringing it down with a hard, downward swing. While the blood coating the surface would negate magic, it couldn't stop a couple of pounds of steel buried into it._

 _I quickly joined in, slashing upwards across the second knight's blood-covered breastplate, causing sparks to fly, before leaving a nice little rent in the armor. I barely avoided getting crushed by the knight's blade. "The blood ensures magic won't be that effective, but I know a way around that!" I began conjuring up more flames, channeling them into my sword, it began glowing red, before flames were dancing about on the steel, just like with Kyana's knives but far stronger. "Let's see how you like this!"_

 _The Knight moved to meet my blade, but with my sword enhanced by the flames, it was much stronger. The zombified knight brought its shield in to smash me in the face, but I was quicker, rolling out of the way and swinging my flaming blade around, taking off the top eighth of it. I ducked underneath the wild swing, rolling about again, slashing across the back of the Knight's ankles. He let out an inhuman roar._

 _Eligor then thrust forward with his lance, which I barely avoided, the tip getting the back of my coat. I skidded back, leaving long tracks in the ground. He then rushed forward, obviously intending to impale me. Again, employing the ancient art of the dodge roll. Let's face it, rolling solves all my problems._

 _Kyana gracefully flipped over the heavy weapon as it got embedded in the ground. She saw a chance, running up the length of polearm to plant her booted feet right in the big guy's face, finishing it off with swinging her dagger across Eligor's helm. He let out an inhuman roar as he backhanded Kyana, sending her flying into a heap about ten feet away. There was a huge break in his helmet. For the barest fraction of a second, I could see what looked like a swirling void in the large gash._

 _"Impudent little brat!" Eligor's voice carried an eerie resonance to it, he didn't even sound human. "You will pay for that with your life!" His eyes flared just as much as his fellow knights. Strenger put himself in front of Kyana, sword raised to block Eligor's lance, amazingly the fast bastard was holding him back. It gave Kyana time to stagger up to her feet._

 _"You okay?" I asked her, taking note of the bruise on the right side of her head, there was also a thin trickle of blood coming out of a gash on the left side of her forehead._

 _"I'll be fine." She grunted, wiping the blood away. Kyana wasn't frightened, she was just pissed now. And that's when she got really dangerous. "Can you cover me?" She asked, a playful smile forming on her face. "I have a confession to make, Devola has been training me in secret, taught me a neat little trick. I think this is a good place to show it off." I was about to ask when she set her sights on one of the secondary knights. Kyana smiled and winked before she blinked out of sight._

 _Faster than anyone could react she appeared inches in front of one of Eligor's compatriots. "Hello!" She said cheerfully, before burying her axe into the small gap between where the armor pieces met, hacking deep into the knight's neck, ignoring the blood spraying across her face. The knight roared in pain, whipping his broadsword around to try and hit her. Kyana was too quick, backflipping out of the way. But she brought her dagger down, impaling the armored knight through his hand, before her axe slashed upwards through his wrist, severing the hand entirely, the sword clattering to the ground._

 _Strenger capitalized on Kyana's devastating strike. He also took to aiming for the weak points in the armor pieces, impaling the wounded knight in the left side under his arm, before cutting downward, leaving a nice big gouge in the armor. A black ooze beginning to leak out. "What the fuck is that?" He asked, wondering if he should grab another pint or two._

 _I couldn't help but feel my own stomach churn a little bit. But I quashed it, instead lighting my sword on fire again, leaping up in a single, powerful swing, hacking the knight's head off. More of the black ooze gushing out instead of blood. I looked to Kyana who just nodded, using her new intense speed to go after the second knight._

 _The second knight was ready this time. He brought the shield up, Kyana bouncing off. She flipped in the air, letting a couple of throwing knives fly. Strenger huffed as he ran behind the knight, but our shared opponent clearly learned from the defeat of his comrade. His blade caught the light of the sun, parrying Strenger before knocking him back. I took that opportunity, having formed a giant fireball in both my hands. "Catch this!" I hurled it with all my might._

 _The flaming projectile flew straight and true, catching the knight square in the chest. Even if the blood reinforced armor negated most of the burn damage, getting hit by a heavy object still hurt. Strenger took the chance to get the knight across the back while Kyana used her newfound speed to deliver a devastating barrage of axe attacks on him, throwing in a few good kicks for good measure, finishing up with a knife to the shoulder._

 _I came in with my own sword, rolling under the shield bash, spinning on my knees to slash across the knight's left calf, blood mixing in with the black ooze. I quickly legged it away from whatever that garbage was, regrouping with Strenger and Kyana. We could sense it, this guy was about to go down. It would just take all three of us to make it happen. The big Temerian cracked his neck, while Kyana spun her knife in hand. "Let's finish this!" I said, brandishing my sword._

 _Once again Kyana's throwing knives whistled through the air. A telekinetic burst increased their speed, this time they would hit their mark, impacting square into the chest armor. I let loose a stream of flames, keeping the knight off balance. I once again brought the flames on my sword to life, but this time I also did it to Strenger's sword as well. He looked at me questioningly. "You'll need the extra power to bring it down, trust me!" I said._

 _He just shrugged, going in for a powerful horizontal slash across the knight's torso. The mad warrior growled, ahead with his tainted blade. But Strenger just brought up his blade to block. The air sang as metal edge slammed against metal edge, embers dancing as the Temerian captain actually began gaining ground on the armored warrior. "Why don't you just die already, you fucking bastard?" He yelled, bashing the flaming blade into the knight's side, causing the blood covering the armor to shatter, the flames burning through the crimson metal, leaving a deep, scorching gash._

 _Kyana vaulted over Strenger, using his broad shoulders as a launching platform, axe held high overhead. Letting out a shriek that would put a banshee to shame. She rapidly dropped axe strikes on the knight's helm, each blow rendering it more and more dented and misshapen. "It's all yours, Ezra!" She screamed as she leapt over my head. I was going to end this the only way I knew how, and I would do it with great relish._

 _"I'm taking a few inches off the top!" I yelled, my sword arcing in the air, the helmet…and the head it contained both sailed off from its body. I got a good look at the knight's face, permanently twisted into a grimace of pained anger. But what was most prominent were his eyes. They glowed with an eerie, blood-red light. Those red eyes would haunt me to the end of my days. All three of us watched as the second knight slumped over dead. We then turned our attention to Eligor. "What do you say, big guy? You want to mess with us?"_

 _Eligor just let out a rather bored laugh. "Actually, I think I've had enough for now. This whole little hunt has thoroughly bored me." Mist began pooling around our feet. "But remember this well, young one. We will meet once again. I know this for a fact, just as much as the taint of the foul Dragon that clings to you." I found myself slightly uncomfortable as he said that for some reason. The mist surrounded him more and more, eventually obscuring him from view, until I could only see the faint outline and those glowing red eyes. "So continue to grow stronger, child. I'm sure our next engagement will be far more entertaining."_

 _His sinister chuckle resonated in the air as the mist faded, and he was gone as were the other crimson knights. Everyone wasn't sure what to make of it. But the last few surviving Rednaians realized their commander had just effectively abandoned them. The bulk of them promptly broke ranks and made for the hills, not wanting to meet their fate at the hands of Strenger's men. "That's right you pussies better run!" The Temerian captain yelled after them._

 _"So, is that it?" Kyana asked. It certainly seemed that way, The other Order knights had vanished with Eligor, and most of the Redanians were gone. It all seemed pretty cut and dried from where I was standing._

 _"Please somebody help me!" The girl from earlier screamed, still in the grasp of one of the Redanians who hadn't run away. Not to mention the apothecary had been tied to the post through the entire engagement._

 _"Oh, yeah, that's still a thing." I quipped, direction by attention at the brute. He was like so many of his other countrymen, missing quite a few teeth. Hadn't had a bath in days. There was a mad gleam in his misshapen eyes._

 _"Watch it there, tough guy! One more step and I slit this pretty little thing's throat!" He held his sword to her neck for emphasis. I kept my face neutral. I could see the nervous tension in his face, the way the flesh around his eyes tightened. The girl was panic-stricken. I took the smallest step forward. "Watch it there pal!" He barked, eyes flashing about._

 _"Go ahead then," I said. "Even if you kill her we'll have no reason to hold back." I held up my hand for emphasis, letting the flames ignite. Its tendrils danced on the air as the heat of the fire licked the palm of my hand. "You'll be ash on the wind before you can even blink!" I could already feel the questioning gazes coming from everyone behind me._

 _"Ezra how can you say such a thing?" Kyana didn't get any further when I turned to look her dead in the eye. It took a moment before it dawned on her. A wicked smile crossed her face, before turning to the Redanian holding the girl. "That's right, but know this you cur: when you die, the Dread Wolf will take you the Realm of Shadow where you'll face eternal torment!"_

 _Strenger just snorted. "Hey, if it bothers you that much... Then perhaps we can just shoot the lout through the girl? My crossbowman Struthers is a dead shot with that thing. He can jam a bolt up the asshole of a raven at a hundred paces. I've seen him do it, right man?"_

 _"Got that right, Boss!" He sneered as he loaded a small wooden arrow into the weapon. Clearly, he wouldn't have cared one way or another if both the soldier and the girl died. The apothecary looked horrified. His daughter just kept bawling and struggling. As this whole thing was happening, no one noticed the innocuous-looking wooden bucket on the ground begin moving. I was subtly tugging at it with my telekinesis. In a single burst, the bucket whipped through the air, smacking the dumb lout in the back of the head._

 _This caused his grip on the girl to slacken. She took the chance to break free and Struthers proved that he was indeed good of a shot that Strenger claimed. The twanging of the crossbow string still reverberated as the quarrel plunged into the Redanian's neck, blood spurting out as he stumbled about before keeling over dead._

 _"Ha! Dead on as always!" Strenger hollered. He turned his gaze to the apothecary. "Go and cut the man down."_

 _I turned my attention to the girl. I slowly approached. "Are you okay?" I asked, holding my hand out. My thoughts went to the old stories I remember reading. The hero saving the fair maiden, who was full of gratitude toward her savior, and getting a reward from them. My reward was a scream and my hand getting smacked away._

 _"Stay away from me, you monster!" She ran off crying. There was no gratitude in this maiden's eyes. Just fear and grief at the horrible trauma she had endured. In retrospect, It might have helped if my armor, my face, and hair weren't all coated in blood. But the sting was so prominent I was taken aback._

 _Of course, the wasn't the end. The apothecary had been released and started laying into us. "What in the hell took you so guys so long? It wasn't enough they were about to burn me and rape my daughter, you couldn't save my wife or anyone else here?" He indicated to the shattered ruins of Lothric. "We have nothing left, what will we do now?"_

 _"Well excuse me for trying!" Strenger growled getting right in the man's face. "Maybe you've forgotten, but this is a cruel, unpleasant world we live in, Mr. Apothecary. You know as well as I do that the Redanians and Nilfgaardians have been impinging on our borders for years now. And the way it's going, war is all but inevitable. You should be fucking grateful that my company was even in this area, to begin with. So kindly piss off before I decide to intimately acquaint your face with the bottom of my foot!" The apothecary just glared at Strenger, before looking to me. The man tugged at his robes and stalked off after his daughter._

 _Strenger just snorted. "Well, that was fun. I suppose it's back to Vizima for this lot. What about you brats?" He directed at us. "Where are you off to?"_

 _I was still trying to process what just happened. So it fell to Kyana to get us where we needed to be. "Uh, we're actually going to Vizima too. The two of us are looking for a friend of ours." She hesitated at mentioning 'friend', Rodger was an…acquired taste to be sure. "I hope you don't mind if we tag along until we get there?"_

 _The Temerian captain just pulled out a flask and took a deep swig. "Doesn't bother me." He grunted, clearly Strenger had enough of the whole mess. He just wanted to go home. With his drink satiated, Strenger turned to his troops. "All right boys, we've done all we can here. Let's go home!"_

 _I didn't have much to say as we set off toward the west. All I could do was replay that moment in my mind. It wasn't anything like Dandelion's ballads. How could everything have gone so wrong? I then felt Kyana gently dig her elbow into my side. "You still pouting over how the girl rejected you like that?" She gave me a chiding look. "The way I see it, you had it coming! Really, telling the guard he should just go ahead and kill her? That's not very heroic if you ask me."_

 _"I had to think on my feet, Kyana." I tried to reason with her. "I would never let her come to harm."_

 _Kyana wasn't buying it. She always knew when I was making excuses. "And what if that was me in that position? Would you have thrown me under the wagon?" I couldn't help but deflate at those words. She just folded her arms and gave a little satisfied nod, although it was clear she was disappointed herself that the apothecary could be so ungrateful that even though we saved him and his daughter, we didn't save the rest of the village. As such, we were both in a rather defeated mood when we finally arrived in Vizima._

 _As we parted ways from Strenger and his men. Kyana and I took everything in. A part of me very much wanted to explore the town and see the sights, but I knew that we had a mission. "So where exactly did Rodger tell us to meet him again?" Kyana asked me. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the message he had sent me a few weeks prior, a ratty looking scrap of parchment with his messy handwriting scrawled on it._

 _I had to squint to read the chicken scratching. "Uh, it's called the Blooming Datura." I had to read it a second time to be sure I read it right. "Seriously, Rodger needs to take some calligraphy lessons, or at least have someone take dictation for him!" I muttered. "It looks like it's in the Trade Quarter. We should head there immediately." I pushed the thoughts of Lothric to the back of my mind. Reflecting that since we had finally made it to the city. The hunt for my mom could begin, so it meant things were finally looking up…right?_

 _As we made our way through the streets. We began looking around for the place Rodger mentioned. We strolled through the main marketplace, the sounds of vendors in their stalls peddling their wares. Kyana just lit up. "Oh wow! Ezra, I know we're on a timetable. But is it okay if we look around a bit before we meet with Rodger? I've never been to a place like this before."_

 _She was so excited by all the new sights around her. I shrugged. "Why not? I'll even buy you a memento." The wide smile and grateful eyes Kyana gave me were what I had hoped to see from the girl in Lothric. I realized that I'd much rather have her look at me that way, rather than some random chick I'd probably never see again. We came in front of a stall selling jewelry. "Do you see anything you like?"_

 _Kyana's eyes fell on a bronze-colored hairclip in the shape of a hawk's wing, inlaid with emeralds. "That one." She said with conviction. I paid the vendor with a few pieces of hacksilver. "Will you put it in for me?" Kyana batted her eyelashes. I pinned it against her auburn hued locks. The emerald flickered for a millisecond as they caught the sunlight. "How do I look?"_

 _"You look really good with that, Kyana," I said. It was then I caught sight of a sign hanging in front of a building down the street. A sign with a white flower that read 'The Blooming Datura' "Kyana, that's it!" I said, pointing at the sign. "We're here!" I took off into a run, Kyana hot on my heels. The building itself seemed innocuous enough. There were a couple of girls sitting on the front porch. They gave me rather amorous gazes as we walked up._

 _"Hey there, handsome." One girl purred in a sensual tone. "How can we help you?"_

 _"I'm looking for a man named Rodger. He said I could find him here." The two women's demeanor changed in a heartbeat, both wearing nasty scowls._

 _"Just a wait a minute." The other girl threw her hair over her shoulder before stomping inside. An awkward silence followed before the sound of heavy footsteps echoed across the floorboards. Kyana gasped at who emerged from the building._

 _He looked far older than he should have. Bleary-eyed, bloodshot. Huge dark bags were under his eyes. He had been up all night. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was nursing a hangover as well. It couldn't have been him, it shouldn't have been him, but it was. It took all I had to utter his name. "Erik?"_

 _"Yeah, what the fuck do you want?" He muttered, clutching his forehead. It took Erik a few minutes before he realized just who he had spoken to. "Ezra? K-Kyana is that you?" He vaulted over the railing, coming up to us. "Oh, crap…it is you guys!"_

 _"Erik, what are you doing here? What is going on?" Kyana asked._

 _"Uh, I got sloshed last night and I'm currently wanting to lobotomize myself for going on this stupid bender with Rodger?" He said. "What are you guys doing here?"_

 _I wasn't sure if I was hearing this right. "Did you really forget dude? I mean, we had a hell of a time getting here. I would think you of all people would remember what we planned six years ago, Erik! We're here to start looking for my Mom!" Erik froze at those words, and began blasting out a long train of cussing in the elven tongue, before banging his head against the wall in rage._

 _"I'm sorry to get your hopes, Ezra, but I'm not ready for this at all. Rodger isn't ready either. You guys came at a really bad time! Why in Cosmos's name did Ioran send both of you here now of all times?"_

 _"Maybe because Bright River was invaded by the Order!" Kyana got in her cousin's face, fully intending to slap some sense into Erik. "They butchered everyone for their blood! How can you not be on the ball for this? I mean, it's all you and Ezra could ever talk about when you guys came to visit us!"_

 _I held up my hand to stall Kyana's rant. "Erik, where is Rodger?"_

 _Erik just shook his head. I could feel my skin crawling. "Uh, it's easier if I just show you. Kyana, I don't think you're going to like this place very much. Just stay close to me and let me do all the talking. The girls may think you're a new recruit, given how you dress."_

 _Once we went inside, it became quite evident what Erik meant. The air was heavy with the stench of perfume. The long couches had scantily clad women lounging on them, A few of them weren't clad in anything but a smile. Many of them were close to my age._

 _Kyana looked about ready to scream. And then she did. "Erik Lamperouge you had better explain yourself right now! Why on Cosmos's green freaking earth are you hanging around in a damned whore house? Does Uncle Mark know about what you're doing here? I never imagined you would stoop so low as to lie with a prostitute!"_

 _"Whoa! Chill yourself right now, Kyana! I'm not a customer! I work as one of the bouncers. If the guys cause trouble, my job is to throw them out on their asses and ensure they never come back!" He grunted, clearly he didn't enjoy this job, but it was all he had at the moment. "Come on, I'll take you to see Rodger, but I'm going to warn you, it's not a pretty sight at all."_

 _Erik led us to a dark corner of the room, where about a half a dozen men sat, with about the same number of working girls. The shadows obscured everyone's faces before a loud belch cleaved the air and leaning forward was Rodger, a tankard of mead in hand and five sheets to the wind. While he had always been a bit on the shabby side, he truly looked like a bum now, his shirt was no longer just threadbare, now with quite a few holes in it, his pants had some new patches on it._

 _It was then I realized he was missing something quite essential. The left sleeve of his coat was hanging limply at his side. His left arm, his dominant sword arm, was gone! His eyes got wide when he caught sight of us, spewing the liquor all over the place. "Well shit! I wish you had called ahead kid! I would have saved you a spot!"_


End file.
